Former resident, descendant of Harvard settlers
Barbara Jean (Bryant) Callahan of Laconia, N.H., passed away on Jan. 16, 2014, after a brief illness. She was born Oct. 29, 1918, in Groton to Olive Houghton Bryant and Wallace Fillebrown Bryant of Harvard. Her forebears were Yankee farmers and coastal New England seafaring folk. Her mother’s family were among the earliest settlers of Harvard and Lancaster. Their colonial garrison house, no longer in the family, still stands in the Still River section of Harvard.
Barbara attended Concord Academy and the Bromfield School. She attended American International College and graduated from Simmons College with a degree in library science. In 1942 she married Vincent J. Callahan, also of Harvard, an officer in the United States Army. In 1947 they moved to New Hampshire and, with her brother Bradford, purchased the former George N. Varney and Son boatyard on the Weirs Channel and renamed it Channel Marine. Vincent operated Channel Marine for 35 years until his retirement in 1982. Together they raised a family at their house on Channel Lane adjacent to their boatyard.
Barbara worked as a librarian at the Laconia Public Library for a number of years. She was a Girl Scout troop leader and owned an antique shop at the Weirs. She enjoyed New Hampshire: boating, hiking, and skating on the ice in winter, and, in later life, visiting yard sales. She and her husband were part of a group that promoted the appreciation of wooden boats by founding the Antique and Classic Boat Society and the New Hampshire Boat Museum. For several years she was a trustee of the museum. Their two steamboats were a feature on Lake Winnipesaukee for many years.
In retirement Barbara and Vincent enjoyed their travels in Europe, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Vincent passed away in 1993. Barbara lived since 1992 in her house filled with teddy bears on Driftwood Lane by Lake Opechee in Laconia, N.H.
She is survived by her children Paige Rooney of Belmont, N.H., and Bruce Callahan of Thornton, N.H.; her grandchildren Kim Sharon of Belmont, Kevin Rooney of Jackson, Wyo., and Finn Callahan of Thornton, N.H.; and by her great-grandson Ryan Rooney. She will be remembered by those who knew her as a gentle, kind, and loving person.
A memorial service was held at the Beane Center in Laconia on Jan. 25. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be sent to the N.H. Boat Museum, PO Box 1195, Wolfeboro Falls, NH 03896.
