Lydia Poole Barker

Lydia Poole Barker, “Poole”, age 22 of Westport, Massachusetts died February 28, 2011 of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Poole and her loving companion, Ian Parente, lived in Little Compton, Rhode Island.

Born in Providence, RI, the daughter of Warren Kingsley Barker and the late Constance Leslie, she was a graduate of Friends Academy and Westport High School, Class of 2006. A consummate artist, she attended the Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC and graduated with a BFA from the University of Massachusetts, Summa Cum Laude, Class of 2010.

Poole was a presence in life and will remain a presence in the way she touched the people around her and through her art. From her early doodlings in her mother’s studio in Providence to her full fledged sculptures as an accomplished artist her work evoked a passion and joy for the piece, for the recipient, and for the natural world that often inspired it. No valentine was an ordinary card from Poole Barker and the world vied to be so honored. That cup of coffee served to you accompanied by her radiant smile carried you throughout the day and a knowing world flocked to the Art Café in Little Compton. Her hand made paper and the sculpture that emerged from its folds celebrated in its beauty the natural beauty in the world that surrounds us and that world is better for it. Her love for Ian, her family, and her friends seemed as boundless as the ocean that carries him and now her spirit. May her radiance and love continue to inspire and sustain all whose lives she touched.

As well as her father she is survived by her brother, Wylie Barker, her sister, Lily Barker, grandmother, Joan Leslie of Brunswick, Maine, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was the granddaughter of the late William H. and Harriet A. Barker and John F. Leslie. Her Memorial Service will be held Friday, March 11, 2011 at 11:00 am in the United Congregational Church, The Commons, Little Compton, Rhode Island.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lydia Poole Barker Memorial Fund for the Westport High School Art Department c/o Westport Education Foundation, P.O. Box N662, Westport, MA 02790.

Arrangements in the care of WARING-SULLIVAN HOME OF MEMORIAL TRIBUTE, FALL RIVER.