Barbara L. Mann

Barbara Leonard Mann, a former long-time resident of Marblehead, MA, passed away peacefully at Brightview Senior Living in Danvers on Monday, April 2, 2018. Born in Boston on October 25, 1927, she was the daughter of Laurence B. and Barbara (Beardsell) Leonard, who raised "Bobbie" and her two younger brothers, first in Lynn and later in Swampscott. She attended the Stanley Elementary School in Swampscott and then Kent Place, in Summit, NJ. Bobbie went on to attend Smith College in Northampton, MA, completing her education at the Katherine Gibbs School in Boston, MA.

In the late 1930s, while at Camp Wyonegonic, located on the shores of Moose Pond in Maine, Bobbie met her future husband, Benjamin E. Mann of Canton, MA, at a dance with Camp Winona, Wyo’s brother camp. They married in September 1948, honeymooning and residing briefly in Puerto Rico. Thereafter they lived in the Clifton area of Marblehead for 60 years, raising their three children and being active in the community, before moving to Danvers in 2010.

Bobbie dedicated many years volunteering around the North Shore: at Abbot Hall, Lee Mansion, Abbot Public Library, and JCC bloodmobiles in Marblehead; the medical library at Salem Hospital; the Lynn Home for the Elderly; and the UU Church of Greater Lynn, where she and Ben were active members and greeters. Bobbie was also a member of the Junior Aid Society and the Garden Club of Swampscott.

Bobbie and Ben had many interests, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, North Shore Music Theatre, Hamilton Hall lectures, Museum of Science, and New England Aquarium. Until recently, they were also long-standing members of The Beach Club in Swampscott, where their children learned to swim and play tennis, and enjoyed a social membership at Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead.

Bobbie took turns hosting "Club," a social group of close girlfriends from her Stanley School years. She and Ben also routinely hosted Bridge Club in their home with their card-playing friends. Bobbie and Ben enjoyed traveling, including weekends in New England, as well as longer trips throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Bobbie loved to go on daily walks in the neighborhood or along Preston Beach in Swampscott to "clear the cobwebs." She enjoyed watching a variety of programs on PBS, listening to classical music on WCRB, and attending live band concerts in the area. She was also an avid, lifelong reader of many genres.

Barbara is survived by her three children and their families: Benjamin E. Mann, Jr. and wife Priscilla of Dunstable, MA; James B. Mann, wife Catherine, and their three children: Philip, Lara, and Sean of Wilmette, Il; and Deborah M. Johnson and husband Andrew of Harvard, MA. Barbara is predeceased by her husband of 69 years and by her younger brother Henry B. Leonard of Hudson, OH. She leaves behind younger brother Laurence B. Leonard, Jr. and his wife, Joan, of Naples, FL, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews, as well as local friends.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, gifts be made in her memory to Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923, or online at caredimensions.org.

Barbara's final resting place will be a niche in the chapel at Waterside Cemetery in Marblehead in a companion urn with her beloved husband, Ben.

A memorial service will take place at 11AM on Saturday, June 2, 2018 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn, 101 Forest Avenue, Swampscott, MA 01907. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Eustis & Cornell Funeral Home, 142 Elm St., Marblehead, MA