Barbara E Hubbard

Barbara Elaine Hubbard, 72, of Pulaski, NY, died February 13 after a long illness. Born on July 16, 1951, to Howard and Martha Davis Hubbard, the third of six siblings, she grew up in Fernwood, NY. She attended Pulaski Academy and Central School, graduating in 1969. She attended SUNY Potsdam, graduating in 1973 with a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education and subsequently received her teaching certificate from SUNY Oswego. Though she worked for a time as a substitute teacher, there were few available full-time teaching jobs for teachers in the early and mid-seventies. After several years she considered the armed forces in order to travel but opted instead to stay in the Pulaski area. Shew worked for American Finance for a few years, then as an insurance agent at McKean Agency and finally at Eastern Shore Associates, retiring in 2016.

In her childhood, she loved the family cocker spaniel Buffy and later Sandy, her Fernwood playmates. The freedom of the fields and the (forbidden) Grindstone Creek where her older siblings led her for illicit swims. From her earliest years she sang in the Fernwood Methodist Church choir. She could be recognized from afar by her long blonde hair, either in braids or Shirley Temple ringlets. She was fond of overnights with her cousins, aunts and uncles, her grandparents, and especially annual extended visits to her great-grandmother’s farm on the banks of the St. Lawrence River.

As a teenager, after her older siblings went to college, she had the responsibility of caring for her younger siblings as well as the next-door Maring children. As a young adult, she taught Sunday School at the Fernwood Methodist Church, was an advisor to the Methodist Youth Fellowship, and was secretary to the Church board. In later years she joined the Park United Methodist Church in Pulaski where she sang in the choir and served in various offices.

Barb was a superb athlete and played throughout school. As an adult she was, for many years, she was a member of the local softball team and could play any position equally well. It was said that she had an arm like Catfish Hunter. This was demonstrated when the next-door neighbor said he didn’t believe she could throw the ball from their house, approximately 100 yards, to our own which produced a sudden broken back door window in our house. Barb loved the New York Yankees and made visits to New York City to watch their games at Yankee Stadium with her New York nephew.

In later years, she preferred to stay home, cuddling with her cat Tinker Bell, reading the novels of Debbie Macomber, and being a beloved aunt and great aunt, as well as an honorary aunt to the children and grandchildren of her beloved cousin Linda. Barb loved her family and cared tirelessly for her parents in their final years.

She is survived by an older sister, Joanne Hubbard Cossa, a brother David (Terry) Hubbard, sister Kathy Hubbard, brother Kenneth (Carol) Hubbard, as well as 6 nephews and nieces, four great nephews and nieces, and numerous cousins and friends. Her older brother Robert died in 2006.

Calling hours will be from 2 to 4pm on Saturday February 17 at Summerville Funeral Home, 1997 Harwood Dr, Sandy Creek, NY 13145

· A memorial service will be held at Park United Methodist Church, 2 Hubbell St, Pulaski NY 13142 on May 25 at 11am, with interment to follow in the family plot at South Richland Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Barbara’s memory to the Mary and Charlie Haney Fund of the Upstate Cancer Center, 140 W 6th St, Suite 110, Oswego, NY 13126 (315)-342-6215

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