Barbara R. Poulin

Barbara Ray Poulin
October 8, 1932 to July 17, 2021
Beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.

Barbara Ray Poulin, 88 years of age, died peacefully on July 17, 2021 in Carmel, Indiana. She was the wife of Harold (Hal) G. Poulin, Jr.  They shared 66 wonderful years of marriage together.

Born in Clinton, IN, she was the daughter of proud parents Harry Ferdinand Ray and Ruby Coleman Ray. She was the valedictorian of the Clinton High School class of 1951. Barbara attended Indiana University in Bloomington as part of the honors program as an English major.   She was a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority.  She met Hal – a student in Indiana University’s Graduate School of Business and a server at the Sigma Kappa house. They married in 1953.

Hal and Barbara started their journey together in the Midwest where they called Des Moines, Iowa, Cleveland, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Bloomfield Hills, Michigan home.  They took a bold step and moved to Monterey, California in the 1980’s where they quickly became part of the local community and made lifelong friendships over the course of 20 years there.  Finally, they decided to retire back to Indiana where it all started for them to be close to family and grandchildren, and they settled in Carmel.  On each stop of their journey, they were good neighbors, friends, and active members of their communities.  Barbara was always involved in school, church, philanthropic, and cultural activities – St. Christopher’s Altar Guild, Steinbeck House, and Meals on Wheels just to name a few.

In addition to living in vibrant communities across the US, Hal and Barbara loved to travel and were able to do so with family and friends later in life across the US as well as abroad.  As an English major one of her greatest joys was being able to travel to England to see firsthand the many historically significant places she had read about as a young woman.

Barbara had that innate Midwest ability to make real connections with people, learn their life stories, and become fast friends even with strangers. These life stories would become part of the rich fabric of friendships.  Barbara passed this important life skill on to her children and grandchildren.

Nothing was more important or treasured by Barbara than family.  Being there for graduations, marriages, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and even life’s simple pleasures, like making cookies with family, is what life was all about to Barbara.

She is survived by her sons John (Mary) and Robert (Catherine); grandchildren Christina, Diana, Nathaniel and Benjamin; great grandchildren, Emma and Genevieve.

The funeral service will be held on Thursday, August 19 at 11:00 AM at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 1402 West Main Street Carmel, IN, 46032, where family and friends are invited to gather from 10:00 AM until the time of the service.
Memorial donations in lieu flowers may be made to St. Christopher’s of Carmel, Indiana. Please visit flannerbuchanan.com to sign the online guest register.