Barbara West

On Monday, December 19, Barbara Patricia Charlton West, beloved mother of three, passed away. She was eighty-two. Born the only child to Mabel Lewin Charlton and Ralph Short Charlton in Palmyra, New Jersey in 1940, she graduated from Branau Academy in Gainesville, Georgia in 1958, and soon after married William Lewis West Jr. She was widowed in 1986.

She lived in many places during her lifetime. From Maine to Florida and New Jersey during her childhood, and after marriage to Virginia, back to New Jersey and then Nebraska and Mississippi. After her husband passed away, she moved to Cleveland, OH to be near her youngest daughter and other family members, then moved back to New Jersey to care for her mother until she passed away. Soon after her grandchildren were born, she moved back to Mississippi to be near them.

An avid reader, animal lover, and knitter, Barbara supplied family and friends with beautiful sweaters and blankets through the years. She was fond of her youngest daughter’s bullmastiff, Seamus, who visited her often anticipating many treats, hugs and kisses, and later Myles, the newest addition to the family of Elward dogs. When she wasn’t volunteering at the Garden Park Hospital in Gulfport, she was taking trips to national parks and favorite cities to spend time with family and friends.

She loved all her grandchildren and enjoyed spending time with them. She is survived by her three children, William Charlton West (Suzanne), Laura West McCarthy (Patrick), and Linda West Elward (Martin Kyle). She is survived by four grandchildren, Waverly McCarthy Prince (Tyler), Eryn Ray McCarthy, Kyle Asher Elward (Tia), and Jourdan Raine Elward.

A memorial service is scheduled in the summer with her children, grandchildren and their spouses in Colorado Springs, CO. where they will scatter her ashes over the countryside. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that those who are able, donate to the Humane Society of South Mississippi.