Barbara Anne Baillie, 42, Spryfield NS
Barbara Baillie was one of six children who grew up in a single parent home raised by her mother with four sisters and a brother. She was the youngest daughter and the apple of her mother’s eye. Although her family was less fortunate financially, they were rich in love and respect for one another.
Barbara went to B.C. Silver Jr. High School where she met her husband. They married young and started a family. She stayed home to care for her children until they were school aged then went to work as a waitress and later at the time of her death she worked as a house cleaner.
Barbara lived a controlled life where her husband was boss and she did as she was told. She lived with verbal abuse for years, was called names and then it turned physical when once she was beaten so badly, she had to have surgery to repair her broken cheekbone. The worst abuse was emotional. She lived daily with her husband threatening her life. She left and went to a woman’s shelter when things got to the point of her feeling her life was truly in danger, but with promises he made to change and knowing her boys were at home missing her and she them, she returned and things became worse. He told her 5 children that if she ever tried to leave again, he would kill her family. She believed him as he had taken their beloved family dog of more than 12 years to the woods and made Barbara watch as he killed him. She endured countless situations where he belittled her to family, friends and even their children.
Barbara’s struggles ended on October 19, 1990 when she was strangled by her husband of almost 25 years in their home on Hartlen Ave, in Spryfield. That same day, she and her mother, brother and sisters were to have a family portrait taken as it was the first time in 26 years, they were all together.
Her husband was charged with first degree murder but to avoid trial he took a plea bargain and pled guilty to second degree and was sentenced to Life in prison and parolled after 17 years. He now resides in the same community as their children, a constant painful reminder to them after taking the life of their precious mother.
Barbara would tell stories of her children about all the things she and her siblings grew up without including a father so she tried her best to give them everything she did not have as a child.
Barbara was a gentle, forgiving, lovely woman who touched the hearts of everyone she met. Friends and family often dropped in for tea and would get together playing guitars and having singalongs. She loved to go dancing, spending time with her daughter, to her son’s baseball games and always excited to have her granddaughter visit singing, “You are my sunshine,” to her. She always had a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes.
Barbara’s five children were her life. Denenia was not only her daughter but her friend. Her son’s David, Mark, Craig and Chad were her joys, always keeping her on her toes with their shenanigans. Her son in law Tom was loved liker her own and her grand daughter Jessica was her sunshine on dark days.
She loved her family…..more than life itself.
In Barbara’s honour, Barb’s Bench project was created. Purple benches are placed throughout communities bearing a commemorative plaque with information on how to get help when experiencing domestic violence.
Learn more about Barb’s Bench