Barbara Mary LeClair Persechino

Barbara Mary LeClair Persechino

Barbara Mary LeClair Persechino took flight one final time and left for greener pastures on September 15, leaving a mark on this world that will never be bested.

Born April 23, 1932, in Templeton, Massachusetts, she was the daughter of Chester and Clara LeClair (née Bosely). As her father navigated the post-Depression job market, Barbara spent her childhood in different homes and towns while he worked to rebuild. Ultimately, the family settled in Torrington, Connecticut, where she graduated from high school. After graduation, Barbara attended school in Bridgeport, Connecticut, earning her dental hygienist certification. But the skies soon called, and Barbara answered, becoming a stewardess for a young American Airlines — a calling she adored and one that lasted more than a decade.

She was once offered the chance to expand American’s VIP clubs (Admiral’s Clubs) at LaGuardia Airport but turned it down, saying she preferred to be in the air. During her flying career, she welcomed many notable passengers, including Jacqueline Bouvier, Robert Kennedy, and John Wayne — with whom she once trounced at gin rummy, earning from The Duke the title of “the best goddamn lady card player” he’d ever met. Card games became a lifelong passion, and from a friend and neighbor who lived across the street, she learned — and never forgot — the hard rule of many a card game: “a card laid IS A card played.”

On a stop back in Torrington, Barbara ran into a former high school classmate, Americo “Perse” Persechino, at a gas station. They struck up a conversation, and Perse summoned the courage to ask the lithe stewardess out on a date. That encounter sparked the beginning of nearly 60-year marriage, a home filled with five children, and a menagerie of animals (it was often said Perse had more sympathy for animals than he did for humans).

When their only daughter caught the “horse bug,” Barbara — as she so often did — found a way to fulfill the need. Despite living in the middle of the city, horses became part of the Persechino household — sometimes quite literally through the back door. In doing so, Barbara reignited a passion of her own that had long gone unfulfilled.

Ask anyone who knew her, and they would say the same: Barbara didn’t just love horses, she lived for them. She once joked that if she could bottle the smell of a barn and manure, she’d be a millionaire. She. Loved. Horses. For more than two decades, she treasured the chance to go “behind the scenes” every year at the AQHA World Show.

As a mom, Barbara did it all — horse show mom (she would often lope western riding patterns on foot to teach lead changes), den mother, 4-H leader, soap box derby engineer, chauffeur, costume maker, sewing master, bail bondsman, cook, baker, t-ball coach, cheerleader (you could not out yell her and you knew when she was in the stands), and most certainly, the maker of holiday magic. She loved Halloween, when grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup became gourmet staples before the annual trick-or-treating pillowcase stampede. She served as the Easter Bunny’s aide-de-camp, hiding hundreds of eggs every year — many of which remain forever lost in her backyard. And Christmas was her masterpiece. Every December, her home transformed into a wonderland of Santas — hundreds, if not thousands — each with its own story. There was no surface left untouched by one of her beloved Jolly Old St. Nicks. Holidays were always special in her home, but at Christmastime, Barbara was in her element.

From her oldest child to her youngest great-grandchild, Barbara gave of herself freely and unselfishly. She wasn’t just proud to be a mom, a grandma, and a great-grandma — it gave her life, and she was so very good at it.

Barbara is survived by her five children, whom she loved deeply and unconditionally: Her daughter Caroline (Bruce), and sons Frank, Tom, Jeff, and Greg (Kristine). She also leaves behind seven grandchildren — Christopher (Hollee), Amber, Halley, Tyler, Hannah, Sarah, and Jude — three of whom remained at her side during her final days, and four great-grandchildren — Liam, Henry, Maddox, and Jack. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Edmund, her husband Perse, and many beloved animals who no doubt were waiting to greet her.

A family service is being planned.