Barbara L Grant

In her long, brave, and vibrant life, Barbara Lacombe Grant blazed a trail of friendships wherever she lived. In 1927, she was born to Hedwig and George Lacombe in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her childhood was shaped by the stock market crash, the Great Depression, World War II, and the untimely death of her father. Barbara inherited her mother’s strong matriarchal work ethic, which bore their family through tough times.

Barbara graduated from Columbia High School (where she was voted “Best Dressed”) and went on to Duke University, where her love of politics led to a major in political science and she joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. After college, she graduated from Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School and moved to Greenwich Village, where she worked for Minute Rice, M&Ms, and Modern Bride Magazine, a job which included giving artist Andy Warhol his paychecks for “doodles” he made for the publication. When her dream job materialized, she left New York in her convertible and drove to Washington, DC, to become secretary to New Jersey Congressman Robert Winthrop Kean.

Barbara had access to political events including sitting in on the McCarthy hearings, seeing Queen Elizabeth, and riding in an elevator with JFK. She swore that Sir Winston Churchill looked her right in the eye and gave her the “V for Victory” as he passed by in a parade.

Barbara’s trajectory in DC was cut short when she married Peter Osgood Grant and moved to Chatham, New Jersey to raise their two beautiful daughters, Sarah A. Grant and Elizabeth C. Grant. During those years, Barbara kept her heart in politics, working tirelessly for the Republican Party as County Leader. One time, upon returning home from shaking hands with President Nixon, she announced she’d never wash her hand again. After the Watergate scandal, she registered as an Independent and ultimately voted blue.

Barbara had an enduring passion for unique and historic objects. By the late 1960s, she opened the first B. Grant’s Antiques and Books in Chatham N.J. The family spent summers in East Orleans in their beloved cottage, and Sarah and Liz remember picking through the piles at the smoldering Orleans dump and going to every yard sale hunting for treasures for Barbara to sell her dear friends’, the Smiths’ The Incredible Barn as well as the l Flea Market and Peacock Alley in Orleans.

In 1980, the family moved to Brewster and Barbara opened her iconic B. Grant’s Antiques and Books on Route 6A, filling it to the brim with her beloved treasures. In a support group for divorcees, she met the love of her life, good-natured Ted Dailey. Undaunted and intrepid, they traveled the world on a budget. Lovers of music, the arts, great books, and culture, they were together for more than 20 years of adventure until Ted’s death.

Barbara cherished many lifelong friends, including her next-door neighbors in Brewster, Jane and Tom Shields, and her “exercise ladies,” Dot, Dottie, and Kay. Among her greatest joys were her granddaughters Nicole Horvath and the late Gracie Horvath, with whom she and Ted shared many after-school library adventures and ice cream.

Barbara spent a magical last chapter in her daughter Liz’s home in Wellfleet, holding court with friends, loving dogs, and surrounded by gardens bursting with flowers as vibrant as her personality. Her family is grateful to Katherine Hazzard and April, as well as the staff and nurses at Rosewood Manor, who cared for her beautifully. She will remain an unforgettable presence in the hearts of all who knew her.

Donations in Barbara Grant’s name can be made to The Brewster Ladies Library.