Barbara Struthers, 82, Was Singer and Teacher

Barbara Struthers, 82, of 64 New York avenue, Oak Bluffs, died Saturday, Nov. 29 after a brief illness.

Barbara was born in 1921 in Claremont, N.H., the second child of Peter and Dorothy Mauroyenis. She was graduated from Stevens High School in Claremont in 1938. She attended Lasell College in Newton and then the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, where she studied voice. During her time at both schools she sang with various choral groups and choirs, often as the soprano soloist, and she also sang with the Boston Pops.

Barbara joined the American Red Cross, where she performed for injured soldiers and worked in a military hospital on Long Island. There she met her husband, Paul H. Struthers. They were married in June of 1946. They then lived in Tucson, Ariz., Amherst and Columbus, Ohio, while Paul finished his education. They settled in Wooster, Ohio, where they raised their family. Barbara was soprano soloist for many years at the First Presbyterian Church in Wooster and also performed in several light operas, including Amahl and the Night Visitors. She was an avid gardener, raising beautiful flowers and tending a large vegetable garden. She always canned and froze her produce for use during the winter months. In addition she enjoyed sewing and made many of her own and her children's clothes. When her children were older she went back to school and became a substitute teacher, which she also enjoyed immensely.

In 1968 they moved to College Park, Md., and when Paul retired they moved again to Selbyville, Del. In 1995, after Paul's death, she moved to Oak Bluffs, where she lived in her own apartment with her daughter and son in law, Claudia and John Bradford. She was also welcomed there by her two grandsons, Thomas and Peter Bradford.

In addition to the Bradford family, Barbara is also survived by her son, Peter Struthers, and his wife, Mary, her granddaughter, Stephanie Struthers, and grandson William Struthers, all of Laurel, Md.; her older sister, Mary Bosley of Arlington, Va., her niece, Sara Beth Bosley, also of Arlington, Va., and many other nieces and nephews, and her cousin Ruth Jolls, of Braintree, with whom she was very close. She was predeceased by her parents, her infant sister Claudia, and her husband Paul.

Barbara also loved and was loved by her wonderful caregivers, headed by June Leon, who made her days pleasant by taking her on outings and bringing her treats. Barbara loved flowers and deeply appreciated all the gardens of Martha's Vineyard. She especially enjoyed driving through the various garden centers on the Island and looking at the roses and dahlias so prominent on Edgartown streets, and the beautiful plants in the Oak Bluffs Camp Ground. She also loved to sit by the water and watch the fishermen, boats and beachgoers.

Her funeral service will be held at the Stringer Funeral Home In Claremont, N.H., on Dec. 5 with interment in the Mountain View Cemetery. Donations may be made in her memory to the Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands Meals on Wheels program or to Children International, where she sponsored a child.