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Barbara Elaine Goodwin Holthouse, of Oswego, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, after a long illness.
Barbara was born June 7, 1951, in Syracuse,, to Thelma and William Howard Goodwin. She grew up and attended high school in Pulaski.
Barbara attended the State University of New York at Geneseo, where she received a bachelor's degree in speech pathology in 1973. In
1978, she earned a master's degree in reading from SUNY Oswego.
She and her husband of 36 years, Gary Milton Holthouse, wed on July 3, 1976.
Barbara worked as speech therapist for Jefferson County BOCES, and as a reading teacher for the Oswego School District until the birth of her first child, Russell, in April of 1980. Thereafter, she devoted her life to raising and caring for her family. A daughter, Sally, followed in 1985.
A woman of deep personal faith, 'giving back' was very important to Barbara, and she volunteered with and donated her time to a number of organizations throughout her life. She was a founding member of the Human Concern Center food pantry, where she was food coordinator for several years. Later, she worked with the Literacy Volunteers of Oswego County, and was involved with a number of projects, including authoring a statewide adult literacy exam. She was a long-term care ombudsman at area nursing homes and spent time visiting the homebound elderly to converse and bring them Holy Communion. She was also a member of the St. Paul's Church and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
She loved working in her flower gardens, traveling and camping with her family in the Adirondacks.
Barbara is survived by her husband, Gary; a son, Russell; a daughter, Sally Holthouse Barlow; her mother, Thelma Goodwin; two sisters, Patricia Goodwin and Margaret Kolenda; and a granddaughter, Mira Pandit Holthouse.
Calling hours will be held from 4-7 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 16, at Dowdle Funeral Home, 154 E. Fourth St., in Oswego.
A memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, Dec. 17, at St. Paul's Church.
Contributions in her memory may be made to The CJD (Creutzfeldt-JakobDisease) Foundation, P.O. Box 5312, Akron, Ohio 44334; or through the foundation's website at http://www.cjdfoundation.org/ donations.html.
