Barbara Gentle Capshaw

Barbara Irene Gentle Capshaw, 82, of Merritt Island, died unexpectedly at home Tuesday, July 26, 2016. A celebration of her life will be held at Wylie-Baxter Funeral Home on Merritt Island on Sunday, July 31, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Barbara was born on November 21, 1933, in Yadkin County, N.C., the second child of Vertie Mae Pardue Gentle and Wint Farley Gentle. She graduated from Statesville High School in Statesville, N.C., in 1951, where she was a gifted student and made lifelong friends.

After graduation, she was recruited to work for the F.B.I. in Washington, D.C., as a fingerprint examiner. In 1953, she moved to Baltimore, where she worked at Hecht & Co. before joining Western Electric. In 1955, Barbara married Thomas Evan Capshaw of Granite Falls, N.C., at First Baptist Church on Front Street in Statesville, N.C.

After their marriage, Barbara and Tom moved to Panama City, Fla., where they began raising a family and Barbara became a homemaker. After moving to California for Tom’s career in engineering, Barbara became a dental assistant in 1969. They moved to Maryland in 1970, and Barbara continued her career as a dental assistant, while also earning an Associate’s Degree from Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md. She then joined Prince George’s Hospital in Cheverly, Md., working in medical technology in the chemistry section of the laboratory.

The family moved in 1977 to Merritt Island, where Barbara continued her medical technology career at Wuesthoff Medical Center in Rockledge. She was passionate about medicine and loved her career at Wuesthoff. She was promoted to various positions in the lab and at the time of her retirement in 1998, she was in charge of the Toxicology Department of the lab, often serving as an expert witness in court cases. After retiring, she worked as a tax preparer with H&R Block in Port St. John for 17 years and as an election worker with the Brevard County Board of Elections for many years.

Outside of work, Barbara very much enjoyed spending time with her family, which she loved above all else. She was an avid gardener, a voracious reader, and a seriously skilled bridge player, playing several times a week at the Veterans Memorial Center in Merritt Island and with friends. A talented seamstress, she was a past member of the yarn club at the Port St. John Library. She loved traveling and enjoyed supporting local theater. Barbara felt strongly about community service and volunteered for 20 years in the gift shop at Central Brevard Library in Cocoa. She served on the board of her neighborhood homeowners’ association for many years. She was a regular contributor to the Humane Society’s Merritt Island Adoption Center and many other organizations.

Tom and Barbara enjoyed a 57-year-long marriage before Tom’s death in 2012. Barbara was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who will be missed deeply by her family.

In addition to her husband, Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Velma Gentle Rogers, of Baltimore, and a grandson, Shawn Evan Waters, of Merritt Island. She is survived by four daughters, Jessica Green (Jeff) of Merritt Island, Debbe Daughtry (Bernie) of Lugoff, S.C., Tami Salmon (Peter) of Alexandria, Va., and Teri Capshaw (Brad Mack) of Winston-Salem, N.C.; six grandchildren, Taija Waters of Punta Gorda, Fla., Alex Capshaw-Taylor (Alex Hanisch) of Fredericksburg, Va., Erin Capshaw-Taylor of Arlington, Va., Michael Capshaw-Taylor of Aspen, Colo., Carson Capshaw Mack (Will Ely) of Charlotte, N.C., and Sophie Capshaw-Mack of Chapel Hill, N.C.; two step-grandchildren, Isabella and Micaela Salmon of Bethesda, Md.; seven great-grandchildren, Christian Waters, Madison Gurganus, Evan Waters, Lily Waters, Ella Waters, all of Merritt Island, Skylar Buzhardt of Batesburg-Leesville, S.C., and Sam Hanisch of Fredericksburg, Va.; one brother, James Eddie Gentle of Burke, Va., and four aunts and several cousins.

Memorials may be made to Statesville Senior High School’s Class of 1951 Scholarship Fund, c/o Iredell Statesville Schools, P.O. Box 911, Statesville, N.C. 28687.