Barbara Traub Woodward

Her parents Warren E. and Dorothy M. (Yates) Traub welcomed their daughter into the world on July 26, 1932 in Yonkers, NY. Barbara grew up in New Haven, CT and was a 1950 graduate of The Day School. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in 1954 from Smith College in Northampton, MA.

Barbara’s work career began after college as a Systems Service Representative for IBM, where she soon met the man who would be her husband for 66 years, Norman E. Woodward. Together they had five children, which required Barbara leaving the work force to be a more-than-full-time mother. When the youngest children reached middle school, Barbara returned to work for fifteen years as a Programmer and Systems Analyst for the Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union in Kingston, NY.

Barbara loved singing and was a long-time member of the Madrigal Society in Woodstock, NY and the Keene Chorale in Keene, NH. She volunteered for several local organizations and attended Episcopal churches throughout her life, including serving as Treasurer at St. James Episcopal Church in Keene.

In retirement, she enjoyed several trips to Canada and Europe with Norman, and she walked for exercise regularly, including – at age 90! – walking the last mile of the DeMar marathon in Keene. Her active intellectual life included a steady diet of word and math puzzles, along with adult education classes whose subjects ranged from Opera to World War II, and regular games of bridge with her friends. She loved her cabin on a lake in Canaan, NH and was grateful for the community she found at her assisted living facility, Covenant Living.

Above all, Barbara was a kind and gracious woman who loved her family deeply and was always considerate of her friends. She will be sorely missed by many.

Barbara is survived by all of her children: Mark D. Woodward and his wife, Karen, of Yorktown, VA, Michael D. Woodward and his wife, Margie, of Sudbury, MA, Lynn W. Wisely and her husband, Andrew, of Hewitt, TX, David J. Woodward of North Billerica, MA and his girlfriend Nicole, Christopher W. Woodward and his wife, Helen, of Dover, MA; her grandchildren, Kendra Wisely, and Jack, John, Alex, Benjamin, Aaron, Phillip, Julianne Woodward; and her two nieces, Robin Woodward of New York City, NY, and Anne Lydon of Devon, PA. She was predeceased in 2022 by her husband, Norman E. Woodward.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, November 25, 2024 at 10:00am in St. James Episcopal Church, 44 West Street, Keene, NH.

In lieu of flowers, Barbara requested donations to a charity of choice. (Barbara very much believed in supporting charities, but true to her nature she was reluctant to ask others to contribute only to her favorite charities.)