Barbara M. (Jeffrey) Thomas, 78, of Natick died Monday, October 20, 2014 surrounded by loving family at her home.
A Natick resident for 53 years she was born in Cambridge, the daughter of the late Robert E. and Katherine M. (Calandrella) Jeffrey.
Barbara was a Licensed Therapist specializing in substance abuse. She maintained a private practice called New Connections for the past 23 years. Prior to establishing her own private practice, she worked for 10 years at MCI-Framingham as a Family Services Coordinator and Substance Abuse Clinician. Barbara continued to volunteer her time at the prison until July of this year as a substance abuse coordinator. Barbara was an active volunteer with many organizations in her community, such as A Place To Turn in Natick, in addition to sponsoring many children around the world through Plan International USA. Barbara was one of the founders of The Serenity House in Natick and a friend of Bill W.
She was a woman of tenacious faith and was devoted to helping others in the spirit of Mother Teresa. Barbara felt honored to have met Blessed Mother Teresa in 1980 on her visit to the United States at MCI Framingham.
Barbara felt a lifelong love of music; played the piano since she was a child, enthusiastically enjoyed the theatre and the arts. She was also an avid participant in the activities of the Red Hat Society. One of her favorite pastimes was spending time with her cherished circle of friends on vacation, at the movies, or simply dining out at a nice restaurant.
She was a zealous Boston sports fan and especially enjoyed attending Red Sox games or just cheering enthusiastically at home in the kitchen. She seemed to have an uncanny ability to obtain autographs from numerous famous players over the years for her family.
She was a graduate of Cambridge College and obtained her Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Counseling Psychology in 1985.
She is survived by her five beloved children, Roxanne Travis of Worcester, Jeff Thomas of Marlborough, David R. Thomas and his fiancé’ Donna Thomas of Framingham, Dawn M. Meier and her husband Bob of Lakeville, Peter C. Smith and his wife Kayla of Tewksbury,
her dear brother Robert W. Jeffrey and his wife Kathy of Topsfield, her cherished sister
Diane Crosby and her husband Donald of Venice, FL. She is also survived by 9 cherished grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren in addition to many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Funeral Mass on Saturday, October 25th, at 11:30 A.M. in the Chapel at Bethany Health Care Center, 97 Bethany Road, Framingham, MA 01702.
Visiting hours are Friday from 4:00 to 8:00 P.M. in the John Everett and Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street at Natick Common.
Expressions of sympathy may be made in her memory to the Granara Skerry Trust for Pancreatic Cancer Research at granaraskerry.org or to the Green Beret Foundation at greenberetfoundation.org