HAMPSTEAD — Barbara Jean Whittemore Sessions, 84, passed away on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at her home with her family by her side.
Barbara Jean Whittemore was an eastern North Carolina girl through and through, despite being born at Fort Dix, NJ in 1940, starting elementary school in Japan, and
spending nearly 30 years in suburban Maryland. She was from New Bern, NC, the daughter of Ernestine Poston Whittemore and Paul Bates Whittemore.
In 1957, Barbara, her mother, brother and sister, moved to Maryland. At the recommendation of her New Bern pastor, she visited Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland. There she made life-long friends, and it was there she met Fred Sessions. They married in June of 1960.
Barbara loved the beach. It was her love of Topsail Beach that lead, after years of summer visits, to the move from Maryland to the cottage south of the Sound Pier.
She loved her family. She loved pictures of her family – at the beach, in the kitchen, posed with fish, wildlife, boats, costumes, cars, projects, favorite toys, and the sights
from exploring life in far off places.
She loved her friends. And pictures of her friends – dancing on the beach, proudly showing quilts at quilt shows, sharing a good meal.And she loved children – her own, those of her friends, the friends of her children and grandchildren. They were all family.
She is survived by her sister, Sandra Kraus and her husband Ed; by her children, Kathy Volcjak (Mark), Kenny, and Tom (Shannon); by Kathy and Mark’s children, Sarah and Martin; by Kenny’s sons, Davis, Mason and Wilson; by Tom and Shannon’s sons, Garrett (Brittany), Dustin (Heather) and Shelby (Sarah Gray); and by Dustin and Heather’s children, Cambrian, Brooklyn and Axel.
A service in her memory will be held on January 25th, 2025 at 2:00 pm at Topsail Presbyterian Church, 16249 US-17, Hampstead, NC 28443.