Barbara Gorham Maysilles
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Barbara Ella (Gorham) Maysilles, 95, of Keene, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully, February 7, at Langdon Place of Keene after a long battle with Alzheimer's. She was born on May 8, 1925, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, to Willis Gardnier Gorham and Grace May (Bryant) Gorham and spent her childhood on her parent's farm in the Northeast Kingdom of the state.
She obtained a teaching certificate at Johnson Normal School (later named Johnson State College). Having been educated in a one-room schoolhouse, she began her teaching career in a similar school in Craftsbury, Vermont. She also taught at Fairfax, Vermont, and then at the New England Kurn Hattin Homes in Westminster. It was here through mutual friends that she met her husband, David Jonathan Maysilles, a Middlebury College graduate and alumnus of Kurn Hattin.
She and David were married on June 9, 1951, beginning what was a long and happy union of 69 years through his two careers. His first was as a Marine Corps officer, and during that time they raised three children, Duncan, Cathy, and Bruce. She kept home and hearth together during his service in two wars, Korea and Vietnam, numerous military assignments away from the family, and endless military transfers around the country. Upon his retirement, they returned home to Vermont for his second career as the director of Kurn Hattin Homes. Together, they enjoyed a wonderful time of joyful service in a setting that had meant so much to them in their earlier years.
Barbara and David were both active in community affairs, which for her was focused upon the General Federation of Women's Clubs. She served as president of the club in Bellows Falls, Vermont, then as the GFWC president for Vermont, and later as vice president of the New England Region Conference.
She is preceded in death by her husband David, and by her two sisters: Eileen Blake Gorham and Patricia Mae (Gorham) Zabbo. She is survived by their three children, Duncan (Teresa) Maysilles of Lewisville, North Carolina, Catherine (Charles) Zublic of La Plata, Maryland, and Bruce (Marta) Maysilles of Loveland, Colorado, and by six grandchildren, Katie, David, Christopher, Andrew, Mary, and Emily.
Graveside funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, February 20, 2021, at the Walpole New Town Cemetery on North Road, Walpole, New Hampshire. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Kurn Hattin Homes Development, PO Box 127 Westminster, VT 05158.