Barbara Ann Spencer

Barbara Spencer passed away on June 18, 2026 with family at her bedside. Her health had been in decline over the past few years and she had long before made peace with her fate. She made her friends and family laugh with her quick wit and expressed deep love and gratitude for both those around her and those who could not be present. Alzheimer’s is an unpredictable and heartbreaking illness but one blessing of her passing was that she was able to hold onto her personality, deep memories, heart and humor til the very end.

Barbara Spencer was born March 8, 1951 in Newfoundland to Kathleen and Frederick Moore, adopted in New York City by her relative Beatrice and her husband John Spencer, and lived much of her life in the Adirondacks. As a teen she earned skiing medals and waitressed at her parents’ Lake Placid restaurant Mr. and Mrs. Mickey’s. She is an alumna of St. Pius X High School in Saranac Lake, the Foreign Study League and North Country Community College.

After traveling globally, she raised a variety of animals including five dogs and three human sons in Saranac Lake. Barb introduced her kids to music such as The Beatles and Hall and Oates, comedy such as Monty Python and Weird Al, and comics like The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes. She never forgot the lyrics to Our House by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. She had a Marvel comic from the sixties she kept in a safe.

She donated to progressive and environmental causes and was passionate about destigmatizing mental illness. While working and independently raising three boys, she went back to school to become a nurse. She worked tirelessly at a nursing home, a mental health non profit and a regional hospital until her literal back gave out. She loved lifting the spirits of people in need.

She spent her final year in Hoosick Falls dining out, exploring the countryside, singing along to favorite songs and cracking jokes with her son John and lifelong friends Andi and Annie. She is survived by her loving sons Dan, John and David Landolfe.

A public memorial will be held in Saranac Lake on a date to be announced. The family asks she be honored through support of a social and medical safety net for all.

Arrangments have been entrusted to Robert M. Donaghue, French, Gifford, Preiter & Blasl Funeral Home, Chatham.