Barbara Pollard, a longtime town clerk and deputy treasurer for the towns of Gray and New Gloucester, who served on the Gray Cemetery Association for 40 years, died unexpectedly Wednesday. She was 82.

Mrs. Pollard worked as a town clerk in Gray from 1956 to 1972. She was then hired to work for the town of New Gloucester. She held numerous jobs throughout her career such as town clerk, deputy town clerk and interim town manager. She also helped with elections and was New Gloucester’s “unofficial historian.”

One year, she was recognized by town officials as the Employee of the Year. She retired in 2003.

Barbara Seaver, deputy town clerk in New Gloucester, said Mrs. Pollard was a great communicator in the office and with the public. Seaver said she knew everyone and everyone knew her.

“I talked to her about 10 days ago,” Seaver said. “She was a reference for us many times. She had a heart of gold. You would never know that anything was wrong with her. She was so positive.”

She was the loving wife of Robert Pollard for 39 years. The couple lived in Gray and raised two children. Their daughter, Denise Pollard, died in 2010 after a long fight with multiple sclerosis. Her son, Wayne Pollard of Gray, talked openly Friday about his mother’s tireless devotion to family – especially to his sister, who went on to graduate from St. Joseph’s College. He said his mother encouraged and supported their passions in life.

“She was always there no matter what,” her son said. “If I needed something, she was there. If I needed her at the restaurant, she came right down.”

Mrs. Pollard worked often at the family restaurant, Jess ‘n Nic’s in Gray for the last 25 years. Her son said she took orders and rang up customer’s bills.

“She just liked talking to people and being there,” he said. “It was great having here there. If I needed something or had a questions, she always knew.”

Mrs. Pollard served on the Gray Cemetery Association for the past 40 years or so. She served as secretary and treasurer. She hosted the last meeting on Tuesday – the day before he died.

Robert Sawyer, president of the Gray Cemetery Association, said she did the bookkeeping, kept records of all the burials and helped people locate burial sites of their loved ones.

“She was an outstanding lady,” Sawyer said. “She’s someone everyone looked up to and admired for her courage and her abilities. She was a lady of many talents and she’s going to be missed.”

At the time of her death, Mrs. Pollard was fighting lung cancer. She was receiving chemotherapy every three weeks for the past three years. She previously battled skin cancer and cervical cancer.

Her son believes his mother suffered a heart attack or stroke. He tried to resuscitate her, but was unsuccessful.

“Its tough. When it’s your time, its your time … that’s for sure,” he said. “She was a tough woman … I’ll miss seeing her every day when I come home from work … seeing her in her chair watching TV.”

Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at:

mcreamer@pressherald.com

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