1927 – 2014

AUGUSTA — Barbara Baker (Rigby) Libby, 87, succumbed to the “long goodbye” of Alzheimer’s disease on Saturday, April 19, at MaineGeneral Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care, Glenridge Facility.

She was born in Lewiston on March 20, 1927, a daughter of the late William Henry and Annie Cranston (Baker) Rigby. Barbara grew up in Auburn as well as Melrose and Taunton, Mass., graduating from Taunton High School in 1944.

After graduation, she attended comptometer school and worked in an office setting until she married Gordon Roger Libby on Nov. 14, 1948, in Braintree, Mass. They made their home in Auburn, where she lived for 58 years primarily as a mother and homemaker, working for a few years as a noontime cashier at Roundhouse Restaurant in Auburn, while her two children were in school. Barbara was married to Gordon for 34 years, until his death on Feb. 11, 1983.

She was a talented seamstress, making most of her own clothes as well as sewing for other people; she spent many hours at her sewing machine. One of her proudest accomplishments was in 1965, when she won first place in The National Grange All-Cotton Sewing Contest. Barbara enjoyed all things craft-related, from making feather flowers, sand sculpture vases, knitting, crocheting and tatting items, to creating her own rubber-stamped Christmas and greeting cards. You knew that you were considered very special if you received one of her creations.

For over 20 years, Barbara traveled to Naples, Fla., for the winter months, returning to Auburn for the summer. However, in 2009, due to increasing dementia it became necessary for her to move to the Martha Ballard Assisted Living Facility at Granite Hill Estates, in Hallowell, where she resided until she went to Glenridge in 2013.

Barbara was also predeceased by her only sibling, a brother, William Henry Rigby Jr., who was four years older than her to the day and when “Bill Jr.” was told he had a new baby sister, he responded, “I would rather have had a pony.”

She is survived by her two children, daughter, Sharon Ann Paradis and her husband, Robert, of Augusta, and son, Roger Alan and his wife, Diane (Porter) Libby, of Mars Hill; as well as her brother’s four children: William Henry “Skip” Rigby III and his wife, Marilyn, and son, David; Jean Sher and her daughter, Rebecca; Nancy Caraker and her husband, Cecil, and son, Nathan; and Stephen Rigby and his son, Stephen Jr., and wife, Sandy.

Arrangements are in the care of Plummer Funeral Home, 16 Pleasant St., Augusta. Condolences, photos and memories may be shared at www.plummerfh.com.