WESTPORT – Anne (Gardner)Barnes, 80, a Westport resident since 1971, passed away Tuesday, June 25, 2019, surrounded by family after a courageous battle with cancer. She was the wife of Walter F. Barnes, MD,for 52 wonderful years.
Anne was born in Boston and grew up in Scituate, MA. She was the daughter of the late Lydia (Stearns) Gardner, the late Robert Gardner III, and step-daughter of the late Annette Goodell Gardner.She graduated from Scituate High School, Pro Merito, and received a BS in Zoology from Penn State University. She also took graduate studies at Northeastern University. Employment experience included administrative positions for the National Congress of American Indians and the National Academy of Sciences as well as documenting diseases carried by animals for the Medical Division of the State Department, all in Washington, DC.Subsequently, she toured 18 countries in Europe over 6 months before marriage in 1967. Early in marriage, she worked as a lab tech at Huron Road Hospital while her husband was a radiology resident at Case Western Reserve University. After having children, she worked as a bookkeeper for Radiological Associates of Greater New Bedford.
Anne was very passionate about nature, conservation, and animals. Her love for all animals started at a very young age, including working at a dog kennel for many years after school. One of her fondest childhood memories was receiving an award for the biggest skunk in New England, her pet skunk “Jimmy”. In Westport, Anne was a devoted wife, mother, and homemaker. She dedicated countless hours to assisting elderly and disabled relatives and maintaining family properties.
She was well-known for her participation in civic affairs within Westport, especially involving environmental matters during the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Positions held included membership on the Westport Conservation Commission for 12 years, Solid Waste Committee for over a decade, and Westport Hazardous Waste Coordinator for 6 years. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Westport Rivers Watershed Alliance. In 1990, the Town’s new recycling center at the landfill was named and dedicated to Anne and the late Ronald Desrosiers. One of her most recent projects was to help champion the protection of a beach area along Richmond Pond in Westport.
Besides her husband, she is survived by three adoring sons, Gregory W. Barnes and his partner Kimberley S. Fales of Dartmouth, Douglas S. Barnes, MD, and his wife Katrina Robson of McLean, VA, and Daniel R. Barnes of Westport; a brother, Robert Gardner IV of New Bedford; and two grandchildren, Robert and Eleanor Barnes.
In accordance with Anne’s wishes, a private graveside service will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Marion. The Westport Land Conservation Trust is gratefully accepting donations to benefit the Richmond Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Anne’s memory.