75-year-old from Meadow View Blvd., North Providence, completed her overland trip on October 28, 2021. She was the beloved wife of John R. Primeau for 43 years, whom she met during a retreat in Holy Family Monastery in Farmington, CT. She was the devoted mother of their beloved children, James R. Primeau, Katherine Messier and Anne White (Steven), as well as the cherished grandmother of Dylan and Leah Messier and Gabriel and Julian White. She was also the sister of Robert C. Vernile and his wife Cynthia (Oro Valley, Arizona) and of William F. Vernile and his wife Sandra (West Hartford, CT). She also leaves behind beloved cousins, godchildren, nieces and nephews and cherished friends too many to be singled out. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Barbara was the daughter of her wonderful parents, the late Rocco F. and Marion (Sullivan) Vernile. She graduated from Mount St. Joseph Academy in West Hartford, CT in 1964. She received a BS in Social Sciences from Merrimack College in North Andover, MA in 1968. In 1973, she received her Masters from UConn School of Social Work. During her career as a clinical social worker, she worked at the Hartford Department of Social Services and Catholic Family Services in Hartford, Connecticut; United Child & Family Services in New London, Connecticut; and Catholic Social Services in Providence, RI. Barbara was Vice President and Director of the North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation Inc. (NACEPF) for 32 years. She was deeply involved in the organization’s ministry work and championed many philanthropic projects including building schools, providing health care and feeding children in some of the poorest parts of the world. . Barbara has volunteered at St. Edward’s Food & Wellness Center and Holy Family Home in Providence, RI, as well as a Eucharistic Minister at Fatima Hospital in North Providence, RI. She was also a daily mass participant and communicator at St. Augustine Church in Providence, RI. She co-founded a Moms in Touch prayer group with Leslie Hunt at St. Augustine School and a Moms in Prayer group with Joan Degaitas at LaSalle Academy. Barbara was a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. Visitations will be held Thursday evening from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the PONTARELLI-MARINO FUNERAL HOME, 971 Branch Avenue, Providence. On Friday, visitation will be at 9:30 am at St. Augustine Church, 639 Mt. Pleasant Avenue, Providence, followed by a concelebrated Christian Burial Mass at 11:00 am. Interment will follow at the Resurrection Cemetery in Cumberland. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Barbara’s memory to the Mother of Life Pregnancy Center (www.motheroflife.org), RI Right to Life (www.rirtl.org) or Holy Family Home (https: // saintanthonychurch .org / maison-sainte-famille). For online condolences, please visit www.pontarellimarinofunerals.com.
Posted by Hartford Courant on November 2, 2021.
