Barbara L. Heiligmann, 99

MEREDITH — Barbara L. (Bent) Heiligmann, of Meredith, passed away peacefully on Jan. 3, 2020.

Born in Waltham, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1920, to Myrtle O. Morehouse Bent and Clarence A. Bent, Barbara lived to witness a century of history in this year, 2020!

Brought up in Waltham, Massachusetts, Barbara graduated from Waltham High School in 1938. She loved all sports and was voted “Most Athletic” by her peers. She held a longstanding high school basketball record and was a pro-bowler in her later years, competing on TV’s “Candlepins for Cash.” (She won many trophies and cash!)

After high school, Barbara attended Bryant & Stratton Business School in Boston where she met her future husband, William “Bill” Heiligmann, at a YMCA dance. Barbara and Bill were living in the era of “Swing” and they loved dancing, winning a number of “Jitter Bug” contests on the dance floor at Nutting’s on the Charles in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Married in 1942, their early married life was caught up in the middle of World War II, which took Bill to the West Coast where he signed on to serve in the U.S. Army Air Force. Barbara traveled with her husband, working any position available in the base office, to remain near him. She reveled in their travels, “adventures” and “misadventures”, as they drove cross-country in Bill’s sporty two-door Model-A Ford, East Coast to West Coast and back again, on “leave” to see family.

By 1945, Bill’s Army service ended and they returned home, living first in his hometown of Cambridge, Massachusetts, then Littleton, Massachusetts, and finally Acton, Massachusetts, where they settled for 20-plus years, raised their three children, and where Bill took ownership of “Colonial Motors” in Concord, Massachusetts. Barbara was the business bookkeeper and office manager.

It was at this time that Bill introduced Barbara to his motorcycle riding passion. True to form, Barbara followed, riding her own “bike”, a BMW, and proceeding to enter and win the “Gypsy Tour Queen” at Gunstock Mountain, where the women’s competition involved a balancing ride on a plank, barrel weaving, etc. She won a three-foot-high trophy!

Upon retirement in the late 1960s, Bill and Barbara moved to their camp on Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith and spent winters at their home in Wildwood, Florida. They remained ever active in the sports of golf, tennis, bowling, swimming, and waterskiing competitions! (Barbara and her daughter, Beverly, were the only winning mother-daughter team to compete in the Lake Winnipesaukee water skiing competitions in the ’60s!)

Barbara loved everyone she met and loved sports; she was loved equally in return. She was as sweet as the candy M&Ms she always had on hand to share — kind, positive, and playful!

Her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will all remember her for the games she played with them, any day or any time of day.

Without doubt, her greatest legacy is her loving spirit and positive, happy energy which she shared so enthusiastically. It was infectious!

In addition to her husband, William M. Heiligmann Jr., who passed away on June 30, 1997, Barbara was predeceased by both of her siblings, Clarence Bent Jr. of Waltham, Massachusetts, and Hannah Catherine (Bent) Houston of Delaware; her son-in-law, Robert Page, in 1992; and grandson Martin-John LaFoley (New Hampshire) in 1992.

She is survived by her three grown children, Barbara Page of Chiefland, Florida, Beverly LaFoley and her partner, Dr. Rodney Burdette, of Center Harbor and Portsmouth, and Wayne Heiligmann and his wife, Maureen Pembroke Heiligmann, of Meredith. She was “Nanni” to seven grandchildren, Rebecca (Page) Pitts of Florida, Derek Page of Georgia, Jessica LaFoley Nathan of Rhode Island, M. Brent LaFoley of Arizona, J. Ryan LaFoley of Montana, Corey Giroux of New Hampshire, and Michael Heiligmann of Connecticut; and James Pembroke (step-grandchild) of New Hampshire. She was “Great Nanni” to 12 great-grandchildren, Tyler Pitts (Page) of Florida, Caleb and Lucas Page of Georgia, Justin-Martin LaFoley, Spencer LaFoley, and Marina LaFoley of Arizona, Effie Nathan and Fischer Nathan of Rhode Island, Francie, Martin, and Iris LaFoley of Montana, and Brody Heiligmann of Connecticut; and two step-great-grandchildren, Gavin and Evan Pembroke of New Hampshire.

There will be no public services at this time.

Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of New Hampshire, Boscawen. To view Barbara’s Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.