Medfield says Farewell to Beloved Resident...

Beloved Resident, Barbara Leighton, passes away at age 100...

Barbara Leighton, age 100, of Medfield, died on July 11, 2019, in Medfield, where she was born and where she had spent her entire life.

She was the daughter of Newell and Myra (Spofford) Leighton, and the sister of the late Harry Leighton. Barbara attended Medfield Public Schools, where she graduated with the Medfield High School Class of 1936 and where she was a standout tennis player.

As Barbara put it, she was her father's second "son," never failing together hands dirty and do the work of any man. She loved the outdoors and was clearly a naturalist and sportsman, who hunted, fished, chopped wood, cleared brush and tapped maple trees for syrup.

She loved her town of Medfield and without a doubt was the town's unofficial historian. She had more knowledge and memory of Medfield's rich history than anyone in town. She was the longest serving member of the Medfield Historical Society. As curator and active member, she was
the face of the Society from the 1950s to 2000, volunteering at the historical society whenever it was open and for many years spending almost every Saturday during the school year helping the middle school students work on their Medfield research projects.

For years and years, she was the caretaker of Medfield's famed Peak House, watching over it, caring for it, volunteering to serve as hostess and guide when it was open, and overseeing the annual Peak House Pantry Sale. She delighted each year in starting the chimney fire to keep the
historic house warm for those attending the sale. It was Barbara who helped shingle the Peak House, helped with the archaeological digs conducted around the landmark house, and toured school students through on field trips.

For years she conducted archaeological digs for the sixth-grade students as part of their history and science field trips to the Cronins' Wright Street property, which was known as "The Never-Ending Dig."

One of her true loves was the town's Kingsbury Grist Mill, where she served on the original Grist Mill Committee. It was her research and knowledge that made sure all restoration work was done correctly. Here she spent countless hours climbing ladders, shingling the roof, replacing windows
and doing every kind of repair and restoration work imaginable. Because of her efforts, the Grist Mill today is a town gem, as the current committee is now able to build on the work Barbara started.

Barbara was an avid reader and active member and supporter of the Medfield Memorial Public Library. She was a stanch advocate for preserving town records and worked with the town clerk in helping to research and preserve Medfield's early town records.

One of her lasting contributions was her donation of 7.4 acres of land off Rocky Lane to the town in 1989, now known as Leighton Woods Conservation Land.

In addition to all her Medfield knowledge, her old Yankee common sense, philosophy of hard work, and her dedication and love of her hometown, she was also a most knowledgeable Boston Celtic fan, who almost never missed watching the team on TV and who knew all the players and their statistics as well as any sports announcer.

Funeral arrangements by Mitchell Funeral Home/graveside were held on July 25th at Vine Lake Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Barbara's name may be made to Medfield Senior Center, Committee.