Barbara Hight

OAKLAND – After a long battle with dementia, Barbara Elizabeth (Burns) Hight, 76, passed from our world at Central Maine Medical Center on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, with family by her side.

Barbara was born in Skowhegan on Nov. 27, 1946, the daughter of Mildred (Pomerlow) and Harry Burns. She attended Madison High School, graduating in 1965.

Barbara was the loving wife of Vernal Edward Hight, Jr., and mother of five children. She worked at Hathaway Shirt in Waterville from 1976 to 1994. After a stint at Walmart when she left the mill, she received certification to become a pharmacy technician and spent the rest of her career working at True’s Pharmacy in Oakland and then for Redington-Fairview hospital in Skowhegan. She was enthusiastic about her work and made her life fun every day.

Barbara loved to read, bake, crochet, and did amazing work with a sewing machine. She taught all her kids — and maybe some others along the way — how to cook, clean, and sew, and tried to teach them how to crochet. Her crafting skills also extended to drawing and ceramics. She loved road trips, but always wanted to be in her own bed at night. Her real passion, though, was her family, especially her husband, kids, and grandkids. She was so very proud of each and every one of them.

She was predeceased by her loving husband of 52 years, Vernal Hight, Jr.; her parents Harry and Mildred Burns; her sister Lucy Allen, brother John Burns, and sister Florence Anderson.

She is survived by her five children, Chandra Hight, Sandra Hight, Helen (Erik) Hart, Michael (Ami-Lyn) Hight, and Matthew (Maggie) Hight; seven grandchildren, Sydney Grandmaison, Mackenzie Hart, Jackson Hart, Patrick Robinson, Isabel Hight, Cody Oullette, and Allee LaRochelle; her sister Ruth (David) Desjardins, brother Larry Burns, brother-in-law Jimmy Hight and sisters-in-law Betty Wing and Joyce (Richard) Perkins; and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the nurses and caretakers at Schooner Memory Care in Auburn as well as all the nurses and doctors at Central Maine Medical Center who worked to keep Mom safe and comfortable.

The family will have a graveside service at Gould Cemetery on Sept. 3, 2023 at 2 p.m., where she will be placed alongside her husband.

In lieu of flowers, the

family appreciates donations to organizations that support dementia research