Newport, RI -Barbara A. Spear, 93, of Portsmouth, RI died on June 20, 2023. She was the wife of the late George A. Spear, FTCS (Ret) USN.
Born in Brewer, Maine on January 29, 1930, she was the daughter of the late George and Eileen (Rooney) Keniston. Her family moved from Maine to New Hampshire when she was a young girl, and they grew up in Franklin, NH. During high school, Barbara met George Spear and they married on October 15, 1951. He soon joined the Navy and she began a young family as a Navy wife, raising her children in Honolulu before moving to Rhode Island in 1960. Barbara and her family became one of the first families of St. Barnabas Church, where she remained a member for years.
Barbara was talented with needlework, knitting and quilting, and may have accumulated a few special “collections” in her years.
Barbara is survived by two children; Patricia Johnson of Portsmouth, RI, and Robert Spear and his wife Suzanne of Warren, RI; her grandchildren: Nicole Crimm and her husband Hal, Benjamin Spear, Gregory Johnson and his wife Corrin, Derek Johnson and his wife Tiffany, Keelyn Matthews and her husband Nate, and Brandon Spear. She also leaves 15 beloved great grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter.
Barbara is preceded in death by husband, George Spear, a brother Jack Keniston, and a grandson Edward Johnson.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, June 23 at 9:00am in St. Barnabas Church, 1697 East Main Road, Portsmouth. Burial will follow at Newport Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her memory to Choroideremia Research Foundation, 23 E. Brundreth St. Springfield, MA 01109, curechm.org.
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