Obituary of Barbara J. Kress

Barbara J. (Keyes) Kress, died December 31, 2011 at Christopher House in Worcester MA. Beloved wife of 21 years of John H. Kress, they were married in 1954, he died in 1975. Born in Worcester, October 21, 1927, the daughter of the late Ivan and Maude (Sweet) Keyes. She graduated in 1945 from Worcester's North High School and Framingham Union School of Nursing in 1949. Barbara served as a Lieutenant in the US Army Nursing Corp from 1950 - 1953 at 130th Station Army Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany. In 1959 they moved to Reading, PA, where over the next 15 years Barbara was a stay-at-home mom raising her 4 children. The family always had ties to Quaddick Lake in Thompson, CT, where they spent each summer at their cottage on the lake, setting down permanent roots in 1975 where she lived for 12 years. In 1987 she moved to Auburn, MA. Barbara lived in Auburn until 2007 when she moved into Christopher Heights of Webster, MA. From 2009 to her death, she resided at Christopher House in Worcester. She is survived by: her stepson, John Kress, and his wife, Sandy, of East Lyme, CT; her son, Frederick Kress, and his wife, Carla, of Putnam CT; her daughter, Cheryl Alwine, and her husband Frank, of Milton, VT; her son David, and his wife, Angela, of Thompson; and her beloved daughter, Suzanne, of Uxbridge, MA, her sister, Virginia Leone and her husband Frank of Worcester, her brother, John Keyes and his wife Francine of Auburn, grandchildren: Kimberly (Kress) Kavanah and her husband Mark; Brittany (Kress) Hajac and her husband Charles, Eric Alwine, Brandon Kress, Heather Kress, Stephen Alwine, Alyssa Kress, Kevin Alwine; one great granddaughter, Cassandra Kavanah, several nieces and nephews. Funeral Services will be Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 11:00 AM at the Smith and Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove Street, Putnam. Calling hours Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Funeral Home. Burial in West Thompson Cemetery, Thompson. In lieu of flowers please send contributions to Alternatives Senior Enrichment Program, 6 North Street, PO Box 795, Douglas, MA 01516. To share a memory, "Light a Candle" at www.smithandwalkerfh.com