Barbara Wilson

Longtime Greenwich resident Barbara Wilson died Monday afternoon at her home in Putnam Park. Having broken her hip January 2, she was in and out of the hospital and rehabilitation ever since. She was 89.

Born in 1929 in Sheffield, England, she was the daughter of Evelyn Greenhalgh and Ernest Roberts. A true child of that era, she was determined, stoic, and kind. She had a ready appreciation of the absurd and a dry sense of humor. She lived with generosity of spirit and effort. All her life, she enjoyed her afternoon tea and biscuits.

A graduate of North London Collegiate School, Wilson first came to the United States in the late 1950s through an exchange program and worked as a librarian in Detroit. After a year back home, she accepted a position at the New York Public Library and ultimately settled in Greenwich, where she met her husband, Gerald “Chick” Wilson. Having completed library science schooling in England, she continued her studies at the University of Connecticut, where she was awarded associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in library science. She worked at Riverside School, Greenwich Public Library, and finally Greenwich Academy. It was at GA where she spent the bulk of her career, starting in 1978 and retiring as Lower School librarian in 1994.

Wilson had a deep commitment to her profession, which was also a passion, and was a devoted member and past president of the Friends of the Cos Cob Library. A staunch supporter, you could often find her there, going back to the days when it was nothing more than a big room at the Mill Pond Shopping Center, where the Minute Man cleaners now stands. She was named volunteer of the year in 2007-2008.

She also belonged to the Second Congregational Church—the crocus church!—where she sang happily and faithfully in the choir. Although her service days were behind her, she still loved to sing. Just last Christmas, she was the breakout star of an impromptu karaoke!

Books and bible notwithstanding, Wilson had her racier pursuits. For many years, she and her late husband belonged to the Monday Afternoon Drinking Society, or MADS. The Wilsons and other Cos Cob couples shared weekly turns hosting an itinerant cocktail party, complete with a communal wet bar that would move from house to house each week.

Wilson leaves behind: her own library (she had a special fondness for poetry), some prints that reminded her of extensive travels throughout the U.S. and Europe (Italy was her favorite, and she spoke Italian, French, and some Spanish, Greek, and Russian, too), lots of devoted friends, and of course her daughter, Clare.

It was Clare with whom she shared her love of walking Tod’s Point in the English style, which is to say, in every kind of weather; a fancy for Fawlty Towers and wacky British TV; the superiority of beverages with no ice. It was Clare with whom, for the last few years, she shared her life and, just a few days ago, her death.

Barbara Wilson was beloved by many and will be missed