PORTLAND – Barbara Ham Brubaker passed away in Portland on June 12, 2004.
She was born Aug. 4, 1923, in Lewiston. Her parents were Jacob B. and Terinna L. Ham of Lewiston. The Ham family was among the first settlers in Lewiston, and were active in civic and business affairs from the 1700s until the 1940s. Her great-grandfather, Jacob B. Ham, was the first mayor of Lewiston, from 1862 through 1864.
She attended Gould Academy and matriculated to Auburn, where she graduated from Edward Little High School.
She moved to Reading, Mass. in the 1940s, where her family resided, and shortly moved to Boston where she worked for a period of time with a large insurance company. In the mid-40s, she was employed by the fledgling American Airlines, and worked for them several years in many capacities. During this period, she acquired her private pilot’s license.
She moved back to Maine in the 50s, and was employed by the Lewiston Sun Journal for about a year. She then moved to New York City, and was employed in the travel business. In 1958, she moved to San Francisco and engaged in the travel business until 1963. She then returned to New York City, and continued her travel business career.
In 1965, she married Max F. Brubaker, an investment banker and stock broker. The couple moved to Minneapolis, and spent about three years there. Max was CFO for Investors Diversified Services.
In 1968, Barbara and her husband moved to London, England, where Max worked as a liaison for a consortium of Japanese and English banks. They later moved to the English countryside. After some years, they moved to Dublin, Ireland. In 1996, they returned to the United States and lived their last years in Wiscasset. Mrs. Brubaker was predeceased by her husband in November, 2002.
She was interested in gardening, cooking and travel. She also kept a small stable of steeplechase race horses for many years. She loved her dogs.
She is survived by a brother, Jacob B. Ham of Winthrop; and two sisters, Constance Caires of Sarasota, Fla., and Elizabeth Baratta of Osprey, Fla. In addition are several nieces and nephews, and many grandnieces and grandnephews.
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