Barbara L. Hodgdon

Barbara Hodgdon, 89, of Upton passed away peacefully surrounded by her beloved family, on July 8, 2024, after a sudden illness.  She was the daughter of Paul and Mary (Bakunas) Burdows.  She was predeceased by her husband Allen Hodgdon.

Barbara is survived by her daughter Barbara Harris and her “favorite” son in law Michael Harris of Upton.  She was known as Bumma, Bumski, and The Woman to her “cherubs”, her 3 unique and beloved grandchildren:  Jennifer, Michael, Kevin, and grand dog Luna.  She was also known as Aunt Fruitloop to her nieces and nephews, the children of her best friend of 80 years, Joan Crawford.

She was the proud owner of Barb’s Beauty Bar, a hair salon in Medway, MA for many years.  She retired from a career in International Customer Service.

In 2000, Bumma moved to Upton to be closer to her family.  She was often a chauffeur, personal chef, nurse, general store manager, baker and stand up comedian for her family .  She loved to crochet, do puzzles, read mystery novels, watch Hallmark movies, do crossword puzzles, and order anything and everything from QVC.  Bumma loved to travel and most enjoyed trips to Disney, York Beach, Cape Cod, and Canobie Lake Park.  She cherished the two weeklong camping trips to Wells with her grandchildren that started at the beach and ended with cherry chocolate chip ice cream.  Bumma loved music, especially Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Rod Stewart, Tony Bennett, and big band music and she could often be seen singing and dancing in the grocery store aisles.

Bumma was never afraid to be silly and brought fun and laughter everywhere she went.  She was kind, thoughtful, with a spunky and fiery personality.  She was always supportive of her grandchildren’s many passions, often traveling far and wide to basketball, soccer, and baseball games and many concerts, musicals, operas, and recitals.  She always encouraged her family to travel and see the world, follow their dreams, and be unapologetically yourself, even if that means being embarrassed.

Her boisterous personality and fun-loving spirit will continue to inspire all who knew her to never forget to be silly and authentically themselves.

The family would like to share heartfelt thanks to the nurses, doctors, and all staff who cared for her at Milford Regional Medical Center.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in her memory be made to the Upton Fire & EMS Association Ambulance Fund, P.O. Box 1012, Upton Ma 01568.

The family will hold a private Celebration of Life.