Barbara Guerringue

NORTH CONWAY -- Barbara Guerringue, 88, of North Conway, N.H., died Nov. 23, 2010.She was born on Oct. 23, 1922, in Berlin, N.H., daughter of Gladys (Robertson) and Philip Steinfeld, and grew up an only child. She graduated from Berlin High School in 1939. Barbara attended the Worcester City Hospital of Nursing in Worcester, Mass., and graduated in 1943 after three years of schooling and training. She enlisted in the US Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. In 1944, and completed basic training at Ft. Devens, in Massachusetts. She shipped out in late 1944 on the Queen Mary, which was converted to a troop transport during World War II, and served as a general duty nurse in France until the end of the war. In many ways, her time as an army nurse defined her personality the rest of her life. After being discharged in1946 as a first lieutenant,she returned home and worked for a short time at the Memorial Hospital in North Conway. Barbara often said she never intended to stay in Berlin, but it was there she met her future husband, Donald Guerringue, a native New Yorker, who moved to the City That Trees Built after the war to work in a photography studio owned by a friend he met in the Army Air Corps. For the next 25 years or so, she settled into the role as a housewife, raised two children, and made many life-long friends. She began another chapter in her life when her husband died from cancer in 1980. She was a housemother at Saint Anselm College in Manchester and stayed active in nursing as a volunteer before moving to Florida, near Tampa. Although she never remarried, she kept busy with new friends, generally enjoyed life as a Florida retiree, and made frequent summer visits north to see her family. When her health began to fail, she moved back to the north country a final time. She lived with her daughter in Randolph for two years, prior to spending her last few months with the caring staff of the Merriman House in North Conway. Barbara was independent, strong of mind, spirit and body, and died peacefully with few regrets, having led a full and productive life. She is survived by a daughter, Lynn Hunt, of Randolph, N.H.; a son, Mark Guerringue, of Center Conway, N.H., and four grandchildren. Byrant Funeral Home in Berlin is making the arrangements. There are no calling hours and services will be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, donations made be made to the Randolph Foundation, Box 283, Gorham, NH 03581.