Cover photo for Barbara Keddie's Obituary
Barbara

Barbara Keddie

d. June 19, 2021

Barbara J. Keddie, 93, resident of Pojoaque, N.M., passed away on June 19, 2021, the day of her wedding anniversary.  She was born in the French - Canadian immigrant community of Waterville, Maine to Estelle (Breton) Hamlet and Anicet Blais, on October 16, 1927.  As a teenager, she moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and eventually to Massachusetts, where she lived until 1982.

After attending business school in Boston to train as a bookkeeper, she married Robert (Bob) Keddie on June 19, 1948, before moving to Brockton, MA in the 1950’s.  There she and her husband raised two daughters, while she operated her own bookkeeping business.  They attended Power Squadron classes, loved boating, and sailed around Cape Cod during the summers.

In 1982, upon Bob’s retirement, the couple moved to Sarasota, Florida, where Barbara lived for thirty-one years.  She worked as a bookkeeper all three decades for Fred Starling, a local developer and friend. Barbara belonged to the Manasota Track Club, where she participated in local races as a racewalker.  She was a participant in the Senior Olympics three times, and racewalked the marathon at the age of 73, the oldest woman to finish that particular race.  She continued to race into her eighties, becoming an inspiration to many.

At the age of 85, she moved to Pojoaque, NM, to be close to her daughter, Gail.

She was always a genuinely kind person, a devoted mother, wife and friend, who cared about the less fortunate, and loved animals, especially her dog, Moxie.

She was preceded in death by her husband (Robert G. Keddie), mother (Estelle Hamlet), father (Anicet Blais), brother (Dick Blais), and best friends (Ruth and Charlie Finocchiaro).  She leaves behind her two daughters and son-in-law, Arlene Keddie and Gail and Rudy Herrera.

The family would like to thank Home Instead, the Santa Fe Care Center and Legacy Hospice for their excellent care in the last years of her life.  We also send a special, heartfelt thank you to Linda Esquibel, a friend, as well as a caretaker.

There will be no formal service.  Instead of flowers, please consider a donation to the Food Depot of Santa Fe, one of her favorite charities.

The family of Barbara Keddie has entrusted the care of their loved one to the DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the Espanola Valley. 505-747-7477 www.devargasfuneral.com

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Barbara Keddie, please visit our flower store.

Guestbook

Visits: 18

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree