Barbara Jean Dupuis

OLD TOWN - Barbara "Barbie" Jean (Pelletier) Dupuis, 88, passed away peacefully during the early morning of June 1, 2026. She was born October 31, 1937, to Mary Blanche (Currier) and Noah L. Pelletier. She was the youngest of 15 children including Verna, Germaine, Rose, Lester, Thelma, Frances, Anita, Noah Jr, Norman, Beatrice, and Rita.

As a young girl Barbie had a love for spelling. As a young woman she worked in the Old Town shoe shop where she met and fell in love with her late husband, Norman Francis Dupuis after he playfully shot rubber bands across the room at her (as legend has it, depending on which of them you asked). Together they had their daughter, their pride and joy, Tammy Lynn (Dupuis) Bolin in 1970. Barbie recently said that being a mother was the best and the happiest time in her life. In 1993, Barbie became a mother-in-law to her "favorite son-in-law" Paul Freidrick Bolin. They carried on a playful and loving banter through the decades that brought laughter to every occasion.

In 1997 Barbie became known as "Nana" when her granddaughter Reilly Autumn Bolin was born. Her sole grandchild from her only daughter was her world; they carried a special bond. Reilly's first memory of life is of her Nana. Reilly remembers sitting in a stroller and looking out at the neighborhood on a sunny day while her Nana pushed the stroller and talked to her. Barbie was present at every school pick up, concert, play, dance recital, graduation, and more. Memories of Nana include crispy buttery pancakes in her cast iron skillet, watching deer meander through her backyard, gossiping like teenagers over coffee and orange juice, occasion cards ending in "all my love and kisses," the smell of peppermint in her car, opening the fridge after school and finding homemade needhams that she dropped off "just because." Her role as Nana shined brightest on the ordinary days, though she was far from ordinary.

Barbie worked for a local McDonald's and later as a food service employee for the University of Maine at Wells Commons. For years she helped cater funerals at her church in Old Town to provide peace and comfort to local families. She had beautiful friends that she carried with her for decades, often talking to them on her 1980's corded phone in her quaint Old Town home, where she lived since the 1960s. Her sweet and endearing personality often hid the fact that she was beating others at card games, even during her final days earthside. Barbie adored people, especially children. She watched generations of children grow while sharing her loving soul at Tammy's home childcare. If there was a baby to be held or a book to be read, that is where you would find Barbie. If it was nap time for the children, Barbie could be found knitting and eating a chicken salad sandwich made by Twila Betts, one of Barbie's most special people. Barbie was an avid knitter. She actually discovered baseball through her love of knitting. Norman would watch the Red Sox while Barbie sat knitting beside him, often reaching up to secretly adjust the thermostat behind her head. She decided one day that the game wasn't so bad. She remained a Red Sox fan through her final days, usually combining the game with her knitting as to not "sit and do nothing." The moment she met anyone who had any impact on her life she knit them and their family's mittens. She donated countless mittens annually to the pediatric patients at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center. She also knit for Tammy's childcare over multiple decades, showing up yearly with bags of mittens of various sizes and colors and letting the children choose the mittens they would wear all winter.

While she was known widely for her mittens, her dearest family remembers her apple pie and cinnamon rolls from leftover pie crust. A memory her family will hold on to is of Barbie rolling out pie dough in her perfectly aged, American-made, vintage kitchen and Norman sitting in the dining room peeling apples into a bowl by hand without a cutting board in sight; a memory that feels like home. To know Barbie was to have warm hands, a warm belly, and a warm heart.

Barbie's family will celebrate her life privately per her wishes. Barbie has never been a lover of plants or animals except for two special labradors, Guadalupe and Buddy. In lieu of flowers that she would not have been "fussy about" please instead donate to your local humane society in her name. Babs, if you are reading this, this is your final razzing from Paul. We love you dearly.

All our love and kisses.

Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com.