PORTLAND – Barbara Plenty Repetto, beloved Mother, sister, and friend of many, died Jan. 1, 2023 in Portland.

Barbara, born March 31, 1945, in St. Louis, Mo., grew up in Westfield, N.J., graduated from Westfield HS (‘63), and earned a BA in English from Muskingham College (’67). She began her career in New York City, a city she loved, working first at a brokerage house on Wall Street before moving on to help tackle housing issues for the city of New York.

Barbara married (’70) Bruce Repetto, a Federal attorney from Tenafly, N.J., and they moved to Montclair, N.J. (’78) to raise their family and where they lived for 33 years. When her two children were young, she became an active member of the Montclair community, and when she returned to work she resumed her passion for serving communities through her executive position with Family Intervention Services serving New Jersey. In 2011, Barbara, relocated to Portland, Maine where she became a devoted resident of another city she loved, and a beloved grandmother to her growing family in Brunswick, Maine.

Throughout her life, Barbara devoted herself to her children, grandchildren and children of others who needed not just a strong administrator of social services, but an advocate who cared deeply. During her years in Montclair, she worked for her community through leadership in the League of Women’s Voters, participation in the Unitarian Church and the Montclair PTA, and cheering from the sidelines at many soccer games. She was a sought after confidant to her family and friends, providing an ear to listen and calming words of guidance. Her way with words will be greatly missed. Barbara was an accomplished knitter, quilter and traveler of the world, but she most loved watching her children and grandchildren grow.

Barbara is survived by her husband of 53 years, Bruce Repetto; siblings Don Plenty of Sebastapol Calif. and Carole Plenty of Somesville Maine; son, Brian Repetto and wife Rocio Carerra, of Williamstown Mass., daughter, Stacy Repetto and partner Anthony Jones of Brooklyn N.Y.; granddaughter, Cleo Carrera of Portland Ore., grandsons, Quinlan and Keaton Repetto of Williamstown Mass., granddaughter Ada Jones of Brooklyn N.Y.

Donations in memory of Barbara may be sent to a local charity that supports your community

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