Obituary: Barbara Gilderdale, 91, longtime New Canaan Library staffer, resident

Barbara Nell Gilderdale of New Canaan, who worked for nearly three decades at the New Canaan Library, died Friday, July 12, with her family and dear friend Susanne Ainsworth by her side at Norwalk Hospital following a brief illness. She was 91.

The daughter of the late Frederic T. and Henrietta Osgood Gilderdale, Ms. Gilderdale was born Nov. 14, 1921, in Colrain, Mass., at the family farm she loved.

Ms. Gilderdale attended Spurr School in Colrain and was a 1939 graduate of Arms Academy in Shelburne Falls, Mass. Her library career began at the Springfield, Mass., city library followed by a position with the Greenfield (Mass.) Public Free Library, which led to the New Britain Library in Connecticut. In 1954 she joined the staff of the New Canaan Library, where she worked until her retirement in 1982.

Ms. Gilderdale attended Trinity College and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s degree from the University of Denver.

She was predeceased by her father in 1974, her mother in 1976, her sister Helen Frederica Gilderdale in 2002, her brother William Osgood Gilderdale in 2006, and to her dear friend Lillie Specht and beloved pets, Laki, Ginger, Taffy, Lady and Abbie.

She is survived by two nephews, David of Randolph, Vt., Alan of Colrain, Mass.; a niece, Judy Fowler of Halifax, Vt., five grandnieces, two grandnephews,  three great grandnieces, four great grandnephews, five first cousins as well as the many close friends she has made over her years in New Canaan.

The family historian, her hobbies included genealogy and traveling. In 1961 she traveled to England to view the Gilderdale castle, forest and creek near London. Ms. Gilderdale enjoyed her many trips to Cape Cod, her family said. She was a trail guide at the New Canaan Nature center, a member of the genealogy club at Lapham, volunteered at the New Canaan Historical Society and was a member of the Congregational Church of New Canaan.

Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt Funeral Home, New Canaan. Graveside services and burial will be at a later date in the family lot in the North River Cemetery, Colrain, Mass.

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