Barbara Lee Sutherland (Hardgrow)

Barbara Lee Sutherland (Hardgrow), 79, departed this life surrounded by loving family on Sunday, Sept.7, 2014, at Cooley-Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass. Her death was of natural causes.

She was born Jan. 8, 1935, in Cincinnati to Harold Davis, Sr., and Mabel E. Byrd Hardgrow.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her beloved husband, Sylvester L. Sutherland; sister, Wanda Davis Roberson; brother, Harold Davis, Jr.; and sister-in-law Nora Davis.

She leaves to cherish her memory her siblings, Constance Ford, Gary Hardgrow (Cynthia Rene), Ruth Davis Smith (Carlton), Clennia Davis Bond, Julia Kay Davis, Alan Dean Davis, Sr. (Shaunda), and Rodney Dale Davis, Clay Hardgrow and Crystal Hardgrow. She's also survived by her loving children, (Donna Hancock, Ruth Sampson [Raymond], Anthony Dunson [Karen Johnson], Eric Dunson [Thala], Kristy Sutherland, Stephanie Dunson [Amy Cheng], Lisa Johnson [Greg], and Tracy Sutherland); 16 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews; three "grand dogs," and one "great-grand dog."

She will be deeply missed by Barbara Cole, Nancy Pagano, Janice Lewis, Barbara Jo McDaniel, her extended San Diego family, and other dear friends, family, and neighbors too numerable to list.

Barbara was raised in Greenfield, largely under the care of her grandparents, George and Bessy Byrd. She attended Edward Lee McClain High School, but later graduated from Columbus Evening High School. After living for a short span of years in New York City, she returned with her growing young family to Greenfield in 1961, where she was a vibrant member of her small town community for over 40 years. In that span, she was an enthusiastic supporter of the many academic, athletic, and artistic efforts of her many children. She touched the lives even more children as one of the town’s only piano teachers, leading innumerable young people to a love of music. She was pianist and choir director at Shorter Chapel AME Church.

She also was a member of the Greenfield Volunteer Life Squad, a baritone in her local chapter of the Sweet Adelines Choir, a member of the Greenfield Historical Society, and a regular performer in area community theater (most memorably playing the role of Yenta in the town’s production of Fiddler on the Roof). In 1973, she was credentialed as a Licensed Practical Nurse after completing her course of study at the Fayette Memorial Hospital School of Practical Nursing. From 1973 to 1986, she worked as lead nurse at Valley View Nursing Home in Frankfort, Ohio, and at Family Health Care in Chillicothe until her initial retirement in 2004.

Barbara relocated to Amherst, Mass. from Greenfield in 2004, to be near daughters living in the area, but soon made the Pioneer Valley very much her own home. She loved Amherst and very quickly made her mark as a visible and active member of the community. She worked during a brief period of semi-retirement at SunBridge Care & Rehabilitation in Hadley, Mass., before entering full retirement. She was an avid volunteer and a constant presence in the Bangs Community Senior Center; she was the current upstanding President of the Senior Travel Club, has served on the Board of Directors of Highland Valley Elder Services, was a current member of the Council on Aging since 2004, was a current and long-standing member of the Nutrition Site Council of Highland Valley, conducted blood pressure screenings, and has been a receptionist for the Senior Center since 2005. She was also a very active member of the Goodwin Memorial AME Zion Church in Amherst, where she served as the church pianist and a member of the choir; she was also a current member of the Amherst Area Gospel Choir.

Barbara will be remembered by anyone who met her for her radiant smile and contagious laughter, which made her the light of any room she entered. She loved her family and friends, travel, good food, music, football, her church, and the richness and variety of her life in Amherst. She will be deeply, deeply missed.

There will be a memorial service on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m. at the Shorter Chapel AME Church, Greenfield. Burial of the cremains will follow in Greenfield Cemetery. Friends will be received at the church beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Anderson-Ebright Funeral Home of Greenfield is serving the family in Ohio and the Douglass Funeral Service of Amhurst served the family in Amhurst.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Arthritis Foundation, P.O. Box 96280 Washington, D.C. 20077 (http://www.arthritis.org). Those who wish to sign her online Book of Memories may do so at www.ebrightfuneralhome.com.