Barbara Baldwin Frisbie

Barbara Frisbie, formerly of Kalamazoo, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away on Monday, September 4 at her home in Lakewood Ranch Florida surrounded by her husband and family. She was 77 years of age.

Barbara was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 4, 1946, the daughter of Howard and Dorothy Frisbie. She is survived by her husband, Roger Hinshaw, Lakewood Ranch, son Bryan Bildner of Denver, Colorado, and daughter, Margaret (Bildner) Galdamez, son-in-law Carlos Galdamez of Lakewood Ranch, two granddaughters, Leilani, and Sofia Galdamez, both at home, several nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well as her two grand dogs, Hershey and Meili.

Barbara earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana, a Master’s of Special Education from University of Northern Colorado in Greely, and was enrolled in a special education PhD program at Northwestern University without receiving a degree. She began her professional career by teaching special education students at the elementary and junior high level in various Colorado schools. She next taught at Center for English Language and Culture (CELCIS) at Western Michigan University for many years at their intensive year-round English language program. She also taught English at the community college and university level. Barbara took a keen interest in Vietnamese refugees in the 1970’s, volunteering considerable amounts of her free time to tutoring them in the English language. One of her special interests was her pride in funding a scholarship to second year nursing students at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

Though Michigan was her home, she fell in love with Sarasota during her first vacation here with her husband Roger and later they became snowbirds, first purchasing a vacation home in the Village Walk development in Sarasota County, and then moving to Lakewood Ranch to be closer to her daughter’s family when they moved to Lakewood Ranch from California in 2020. She had an ongoing love for culture, the arts and music where she found enjoyment out of spending time at the Ringling, Selby Gardens, The Mote Aquarium, and going to plays at the Asolo. She loved anything and everything that had to do with Shakespeare and sharing this love with her family.

She enjoyed traveling and sharing her love of travel with her family. She spent many enjoyable summers in Stratford, Ontario, Canada to see numerous Shakespeare plays. She traveled to France and Italy to create more wonderful memories with her daughter. With her husband Roger, they traveled to see many historical parts of the country and shared these happy memories with her family. One of her favorite mottos was to “Live, Live, Live!”

She is survived by her devoted husband, Roger, a man whose love, affection and care ensured her comfort in routine, lifestyle, and the quality intensive caregiving during the last months of her cancer diagnosis. Barbara and Roger were married in 2006 after a three-year courtship. Their courtship grew out of a shared interest for investing through American Association of Individual Investor (AAII) meetings. They traveled, enjoyed learning, and sharing their love of knowledge, and lived active, healthy lives. They were both long time Michigan residents, but now call the Sarasota area home.

There will be a Memorial Service on Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 11:00 am at Church of the Palms in Sarasota.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to Tidewell Hospice or Moffitt Cancer Center.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.rtslwr.com for the Frisbie family.