Barbara Dickey, 91, died peacefully on Monday morning June 16 at her home in Proctorsville surrounded by her family.
Barbara was born February 27, 1934 in Minneapolis, Minn. to Charles and Elizabeth Dickey. She attended Stanford University and University of Arizona for her undergraduate degree and the University of Minnesota for her Masters and PhD in Educational Psychology.
In 1955, Barbara married Wilbur French and they had three children, Robin, Kimberly and Andrew. In 1975 they divorced and shortly afterwards Barbara moved to Brookline, Massachusetts to run the evaluation unit at Massachusetts Mental Health Center. Barbara was a member of the faculty at Harvard Medical School. As Associate Professor, she won national recognition and support for her research on the delivery of mental health services for persons with serious mental illness. Barbara was an expert on public insurance systems for persons living with serious mental illness, and became a very highly regarded researcher in her field. While at Harvard Medical School Barbara received funding for her research from the National Institutes of Health. She published 85 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry among many others.
Barbara made her first trip to Vermont in 1983. She fell in love with the area and built a home in Chester. After 15 years in Chester she moved to Proctorsville where she lived until her death. Friends and family joining her on weekends knew they would enjoy tremendous meals, lively conversation around the dinner table, the beauty of her extensive gardens, and her always informed take on current events, art, culture, and music. She started the Cavendish Community Fund with her friends, investing in community improvements and events.
Barbara leaves behind her brother Harrison Dickey (Chang Mai, Thailand); her children Robin Manthei (Ham Lake, Minn.), Kimberly French (Woodstock, Vt.), and Andrew French (Proctorsville, Vt.;, her son-in-law Mark J Spartz; her grandchildren Nicholas Manthei (Elif Manthei) and Charlie Manthei; and six great-grandchildren. She loved her nieces Susan Taggart (Jim Taggart) of Wallingford, Vt., and Jennifer Argyros and their children James, Harrison, and Maureen Taggart and Sage and Elizabeth Argyros.
A service for Barbara was held on Friday, June 20 in Killington, Vt.
An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.
