Deborah Barrett

Deborah Barrett April 28, 1947 – January 24, 2024
Deborah Barret, 76, of Brighton MA passed away peacefully at the Care Dimensions
Hospice House on January 24, 2024, of cancer. Her son Randy was by her side.
Deborah is survived by her two sons, Randy Barrett and Jayme Fishman and his wife
Gretchen and three grandchildren, Lily, Shayna, and Evan.
Deborah had many roles and interests throughout her lifetime, first as a business owner
and craftsman, later as a college English professor and mentor, and as a hobbyist
photographer, soap maker and gardener, and wife, mother, and grandmother. She had a
great love of swimming, biking, reading, playing Mah Jong, and- in earlier days- dancing
the Lindy.
She earned a master’s degree in teaching from Simmons College, and then a second
master’s in teaching English as a Second Language when she discovered her passion
for working with international and immigrant students. In her 20-year career at Bunker
Hill Community College she supported, encouraged, inspired, and mentored dozens of
students. She felt that this was the biggest accomplishment of her working life.
In recent years she developed an interest in Buddhism and meditation, which provided
her with a support system during her illness.
The funeral will be held on Friday, January 26 at 10:30 at Mt. Auburn Cemetery. In lieu
of flowers, donations in Deborah’s memory may be sent to Organization for Autism
Research (OAR) https://researchautism.org/.