BRIDGEWATER --- Barbara (Basia) Kazimiera (Szypula) Weglarz, 92, transitioned peacefully on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at her home in Bridgewater, NH, after a period of declining health.
Born on November 30, 1933, in Poznan, Poland, daughter of Antoni and Kazimiera (Jurczynska) Szypula. She was 5 years old when Germany invaded her homeland in September, 1939. After being captured by the Soviet Army, she and her younger brother Andrzej (Andrew) along with their parents, spent the next decade as prisoners of war, transported to prison camps deep into the Russian Gulag.
Miraculously, the family stayed alive and intact until escaping through the Middle East to Maadi, Egypt, where Basia attended her first organized school. With help from the British military, they subsequently made passage to Surrey, England, and eventually to the US under the Displaced Persons Act in 1952.
On September 19, 1959, Barbara was married to Dr. Stephen Weglarz in Lynn, MA, where they raised 6 children. She found peace in the flower gardens at her Prescott Road home, nurturing perennials and creating a beautiful living landscape, winning recognition from the local historic district committee. A born artist with a natural talent for sculpture, she loved visiting the historic gardens of New England, where she drew inspiration for her own landscape designs.
She tolerated the family ski weekends at Tenney Mountain and some of the hiking trips, but the beach was where she found her solace. Fortunately, the beaches of Lynn and Nahant were close to home and summers were spent at Newfound Lake. Her favorite travel destinations were Bermuda, Nassau, and Cancun. Classic movies were another favorite escape, and she could always be found curled up late night with a scoop of ice cream enjoying Hollywood’s finest.
Barbara was predeceased by Steve, her husband of 62 years, her brother Andrew Szypula, and her niece, Karen Shipula.
She is survived by daughters Mary Hall, Caroline Ruhm, and Kasia Weglarz, and sons Stephen, Michael and John Weglarz, nephews Peter Shipula and Mark Szypula, eleven grandchildren: Brayton, Kazimiera, Dylan, Jacob, Liam, Mia, Anya, Zosia, Emma, Leo and Devon, and one great-grandchild, Hunter.
Consistent with her nature as a private person, there will be no calling hours or graveside service.
Her remains will be interred at the family burial plot at the Newfound Lake property, and a celebration of life will be held in August, date TBD.
For anyone wishing to make a memorial donation in Barbara’s name, we suggest Prescott Park. Checks can be made payable to the City of Portsmouth, Attn: Judy Renaud, Controller, 1 Junkins Avenue, Portsmouth, NH 03801, or to Tarbin Gardens, 321 Salisbury Road, Franklin, NH 03235.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit wilkinsonbeane.com.