Barbara L. (Dimock) Cote

ORANGE- Ms. Barbara Lorraine Cote (Dimock), 93, died peacefully Friday (July 28, 2023) in Athol, Massachusetts at Quabbin Valley Nursing Home.  She died after a period of declining health. Though our hearts are broken, we know that she has found peace. 

She was born in Cambridge, Mass. on Thanksgiving Day, November 29, 1929. She was the daughter of the late Frederick William Dimock and Helen Elizabeth Dimock (Morrissey) who came to Massachusetts from Canada and Ireland. Barbara had lived in Orange since 1984. Of all the places she has lived in, she was most happy living in Orange. She loved the people and the town. There were a few people that she was very close to and considered them her family. She told me that there is the family you are born into whether you like them or not, the family you create and love with all your heart until the day you die, and if lucky enough a family that chooses you. She had that special relationship with a couple of best friends in Orange and their families. Barbara was a strong woman who endured much heartache in her life having been born and raised during the Depression, her family was split up, and she and her siblings were divided up and raised by other people because her parents were unable to care for them.  She and her baby sister, Phyllis, were placed in a home together and clung together throughout their lives.  Barbara loved and cherished her sister deeply.  Even through that family division and Barbara’s painful marriages she always loved deeply and had a servant’s heart. I am a strong woman (her youngest daughter) because she taught me to be strong like her. She had a talent for drawing and loved all forms of art. I wish she shared that side with others more. She also loved bowling, bingo, and playing cards especially if she won. She really loved anything that brought her around people. She would also tell you that you haven’t had lobster unless you have had lobster in Maine. To her, lobster in Maine was the best food ever. Most of all, Barbara loved God. She was raised Catholic and became a Baptist as a middle-aged adult living in the South. Being in Orange from her 50s through her 90s, her beliefs aligned more with the Protestant church. She said God was always there when she needed Him. That’s how we know she is at peace…she is in Heaven with her Father.  I’m sure she got to those pearly gates and said, “What took so long? I’ve been waiting forever.” Yes, this somewhat quiet petite 5-foot woman had a humor.

Barbara is predeceased by her parents and her oldest daughter, Beverly “Bev” Burns; her grandsons, William “Billy” Burns and Justin Burns; her brothers, Leo Dimock and Frederick “Fred” Dimock; and her sister, Bernice Scolla (Dimock).  For each of them who died before her, a piece of her died with them because she loved them deeply.

Her surviving loved ones include her sister Phyllis Tarca (Dimock); children Laurie A. Duffey (Coté), Jean M. Lillie (Beyer), Glenn M. Martello, and Rodney J. Martello; grandchildren William Duffey, Lucas Duffey, Gina Burns, Benjamin Burns, Nicole Lillie, Benjamin Lillie, and Stephen Lillie.

No services will be held.

She asked that in lieu of flowers to please donate to the Orange Ambulance Fund, c/o Orange Fire Department, 18 Water Street, Orange, MA 01364.

Witty’s Funeral Home, 158 South Main Street, Orange, is assisting the family.

Guest book online at WWW.WITTYFUNERALHOME.COM

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