Enjoyed Golf, Former President Of The Lebanon Woman’s Club
LEBANON, N.H. — There will be a graveside service for Barbara Melendy Bragalone, 90, who died surrounded by her immediate family on Monday, Dec. 12 2011, at the Harvest Hill Hughes Care Unit after a long illness, on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m. at Pine Knoll Cemetery in Hanover followed by a reception to celebrate her life from 1:30-4 p.m. at the Dwinell Room at Harvest Hill in Lebanon.
Barbara was born May 22, 1921 in Hanover, N.H., the daughter of Grant and Leone Eastman.
She attended Hanover High School and graduated from the University of New Hampshire. After college she worked for Penn Central Railroad in Washington, DC during the last years of WWII.
In 1947, she married Sterling Speare Melendy, who predeceased her in 1984. During her marriage to Sterling she enjoyed a very active life of activities and hobbies. During this period she was active in the Lebanon Woman’s Club, where she served a number of years as president, and the Alice Peck Day Hospital Auxiliary of which she was also a past president. She also enjoyed bowling and golf and was very active on a number of committees at Carter Country Club and Hanover Country Club. She and Sterling enjoyed many fall weekends attending Dartmouth football games, including the very festive tailgate events that preceded every home game with Barbara’s whiskey sour drinks always on the menu. This time in her life brought many activities with Sterling and her three children. She and her sons played many mother and son golf tournaments and she was active in helping with her daughter’s skiing and school activities.
She and Sterling had many friends and her family has wonderful memories from time spent at their home on Hillcrest Acres in Lebanon and at their cottage on Mascoma Lake, including the infamous July 4th celebrations with its large group of attendees. Rarely was there a down weekend in their household.
Sterling died suddenly in 1984 of a heart attack while driving and Barbara suffered hip and leg injuries in that car accident which bothered her for the balance of her life.
In 1988, Barbara married Alfred Bragalone whom she met while wintering in Florida. Her marriage to Al brought more golf and travel, including many cruises and trips to the Dominican Republic. In 1995, Al began struggling with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease.) This period began a long slow decline of heath for Al ending for him in 2000. With Al’s passing Barbara was on her own again for the second time, spending many years on her own living in Florida during the winter months and summers at Mascoma Lake. As her health declined in 2007 she relocated fulltime to Lebanon and was an active part of her growing family of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Barbara is survived by her daughter, Karen Cervantes, and Karen’s husband, Raul, of Lebanon, N.H.; her son, Peter Melendy, and Peter’s wife, Rima, of Kittery, Maine, and son, Mark Melendy and Mark’s wife, Jo of Hartland; grandchildren, James Walker, III and Heather Hubert, Cole Melendy, Elizabeth Tillinghast Melendy, Peter Melendy, and Stephen Melendy, Mateo Melendy and Maria Melendy; five great-grandchildren, Garrett and Grant Walker, Christian and Joseph Hubert and Noah Melendy.
She was predeceased by her parents and two brothers, Roger and Robert. Her father, Grant Eastman, founded Eastman’s Pharmacy in Hanover, N.H. and her brother, Roger Eastman, continued the successful operation of that business for many years until his death in 1978.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made in her honor to Harvest Hill Assisted Living or Hospice of N.H. and VT.
Email condolences can be emailed through www.rickerfuneralhome.com.
This obituary first appeared in the December 15th print edition of the Vermont Standard.
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