Obituary of Barbara Ann Lamarche

Barbara Lamarche passed away peacefully on December 14, 2018 surrounded by her loving family.  Born April 11, 1941 in New York City, she grew up in Forest Hills, Queens.  She graduated from Wheaton College in 1962, majoring in Art History and shortly after married Morgan Lamarche, who was a blind date in college.  They were married for 56 wonderful years, devoted to each other throughout. Barbara was an accomplished woman, caring, sweet, elegant, smart, thoughtful, fun-loving and vivacious.  She had many, many friends who loved her great spirit, optimism, sense of responsibility and boundless generosity. 

She had a catering business in NYC, and was an accomplished cook.  Later she worked for Spitzer and Furman Jewelers, using her extraordinary artistic talents to manage the showroom and window displays.  She was a master at design, color, interior decorating and was a passionate antiques and art collector.  Moving to Duxbury, MA in the 1990’s, she became a respected antiques dealer for over 22 years. She and her husband Morgan also co-founded Vista Garden Design, which specialized in landscape and garden design in Massachusetts for nearly 20 years.  

She was a tireless volunteer who served her community throughout her life. First as a Director of the Forest Hills Village Improvement Society, helping to create small parks in the neighborhood and arranging numerous fundraising events and activities to benefit the organization. A member of the Forest Hills Women’s Club and West Side Tennis Club, she also ran parties and events for the FH Community House. She was on the Board of Directors of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA and for 10 years helped to run their Annual New York City Fundraising Party. She also volunteered for the Sutton Area Community Group. Later as an active volunteer for the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society, she worked on the collections committee, creating special and seasonal exhibits at historic houses and, as an avid gardener, helped to create and maintain the many gardens of the Society.  She was a member of the founding group for the Duxbury Music Festival and was an overseer of the South Shore Conservatory.  As a member of the Duxbury Yacht Club she loved working on the entertainment and beautification committees.  She was also honored to be a member of the Duxbury Garden Club, as gardening was one of her passions.  Her enthusiasm was contagious and motivated many others to volunteer their time and energy to the causes dear to her.

Barbara is survived by her loving husband Morgan, loving son Gregory and daughter-in-law Mikaela, brother-in-law Sem Dieterich.  She will be sorely missed by her family and many friends.  A celebration of life service will be held at 12:00 Noon on Saturday, April 6, 2019 at the Duxbury Bay Maritime School in Duxbury, MA.  Donations in her honor can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 309 Waverly Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452.