Amabel Kilby Barrows, age 98, died March 1, 2019 from complications of pneumonia at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, MA. She was the daughter of Helen Amabel Eshleman and Frank Mercur Eshleman of Milton, MA. She was the sister of the late Benjamin Franklin Eshleman and the late Elizabeth Barnett Brooks.
Amabel attended Milton Academy completing all twelve years. After graduating in 1938, she spent eight months modeling in Paris, ending abruptly to make the final crossing of the Normandiewhen France was threatened by Germany.
Amabel then worked as a draftsman in New York City during the war. In 1943 she married Elliot Ashwell Barrows, a navigator in the Army Air Force. They moved briefly to Monroe, LA. When Elliot went overseas to India, she moved back to Milton with her newborn baby for the duration of the war.
After living in Westwood, MA for several years, they moved to Wilton, CT where their three children were raised. Amabel’s antique business of forty years started with tailgating at flea markets. Her many estate sales were well attended. After Elliot died, Amabel moved to Marion, MA in 2001.
Survivors include her three children, Amabel Kilby Allen (husband William) of Cumberland, RI, Madeline Ashwell Cooke of Marion, MA and William Dudley Barrows (wife Laurie) of Newbury, MA. She has six grandchildren, Sarah Allen Scoville, Katherine Amabel Allen; Elise Amabel Stokes, Jay Groverman Cooke; Annie Lucille Barrows and Lily Carver Barrows and five great grandchildren, Andrew, Lucy and Evelyn Scoville; and Patrick and Coletta Stokes.
A memorial service is planned for the spring in Marion on Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Gabriel’s Church, 124 Front Street, Marion.
Arrangements are by the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 2599 Cranberry Hwy., Wareham. For directions and online guestbook, visit: www.ccgfuneralhome.com.
