Barbara Sturrock

It was at the Equinox, on the final day of summer September 22nd, 2023 that our beloved mother took her last breath. Barbara Sturrock was born in 1927 in Quincy, Massachusetts, a child of the depression. She learned self-sufficiency from her father, Roger Eyrle Perkins, who grew up on a farm and always had a large garden to supplement his postal worker income to feed a family of eight. From her mother Maria Jose Amaral, a nurse, she learned compassionate and spiritual healing. During WWII, as a teenager, Barbara worked on a Victory Farm driving a tractor and doing her part. After graduating from high school, she got a job as a librarian in Quincy, managing the children’s room and the music room. She later married William C. Sturrock and moved to Dover, New Hampshire where they raised three children. Barbara practiced organic gardening in the early 1960s before it became fashionable, raising chickens and tending to her grapevines, fruit trees and vegetable plot.

She served on the city planning and zoning boards in Dover for many years. Barbara connected with people concerned about the country’s direction and took her kids to anti-segregation rallies. She was involved in developing the city’s recycling program and was an active member of the first community hotline for teens. Later, she participated in a successful effort against an oil refinery proposed in nearby Durham in 1974.

A deeply spiritual person, Barbara was known for her wisdom and was actively sought out for her perspectives on life. She served as Clerk of the Dover Friends Meeting, organizing interfaith activities and traveling to quarterly meetings to develop policies and programs for the Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. After she and her husband retired, they moved to Hampden, ME to enjoy life with their nearby grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Barbara is survived by her brother, Norman Perkins; her children, William A. Sturrock and wife, Mary-Michael Billings, Mary Clare Grimes and husband, Ray, and Charles P. Sturrock and wife, Katherine; grandchildren, Mikaela Wentworth and husband, Kevin, Alexander Sturrock, Daniel Krawiec, David Krawiec, Evelyn Hardin and husband, Christopher Lu, Gerry Grimes and Mike Grimes, Allison Classen and husband Ben; great grandchildren Asa, Iris, Orin, Laney, Emily, Jimmy and Watson. She was predeceased by her husband, William; grandson, Benjamin Sturrock; and four siblings.

A Memorial Service will be held in Dover, NH at a later date.