Barbara Ann Tiernan

Barbara Ann Tiernan, age 84, of Wakefield, Rhode Island passed away on Friday, September 16, 2022. She was the beloved wife of the late Peter G. Tiernan and is survived by her daughter Melissa Tiernan and her partner Richard Miscovich, and her son Garrett Tiernan. Barbara also leaves her siblings Ellen Poole, Janice Gilmore and her husband Charles, Jack Poole, and Mary K Batalon, along with many beloved nieces and nephews.

Born in Pawtucket, RI, Barbara was the daughter of the late John and Ellen ( Reddin ) Poole.

She was a 1956 graduate of Pawtucket East, now Tolman High School. Barbara had a long fulfilling career with the Department of Labor and Training, retiring as an Employment and Training Manager.

Barbara lived a life of kindness and is described by family and friends as patient, supportive, funny, sweet, strong, resourceful and a good listener.

The deep love and appreciation for her close-knit family was sacred to her. They often referred to her as the Matriarch and nurtured her special connection with flamingos.

She enjoyed and embodied simple beauty and fashion. She also loved children, the sound of rain on a tin roof, singing along to music, and her decades of serving the public as part of a great team at the RI Department of Labor and Training.

She first lived in Pawtucket, later in Cranston where she raised her family, and eventually by the ocean in Green Hill, RI. She always created a cheerful home and loved hosting family and friends for holidays and summer cookouts. She enjoyed travel in the US and abroad, including an epic car trip to California in her early 20s when she kept a journal detailing her excitement, humor, and adventure (haven’t we all missed an exit on the NJ turnpike?).

She LOVED to laugh and all who know her will say when she threw her head back and caught her breath from laughing so hard, it was impossible to not laugh with her. We will remember her this way, free and laughing and somewhere in the great beyond dressed to the nines.

Friends and family may call Monday September 26, 2022 from 4:00-6:00 pm in the Russell J. Boyle and Son Funeral Home, 331 Smith Street, Providence.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Alzheimer's Foundation of America (a resource for caregivers of people with Alzheimer's) or https://alzfdn.org or to Hope Health Hospice and Palliative Care https://www.hopehealthco.org