Barbara Stuart Bradshaw Evans of Cazenovia, passed away on March 10, 2022, at the age of 96. Barbara was born on May 4, 1925, in the Stockade District of Schenectady, N.Y., the youngest daughter of Clarence Walworth Bradshaw and Dorothy Tayler Bradshaw. After graduating from Nott Terrace High School in 1942, she went on to study art at Syracuse University. It was at Syracuse that she met her future husband, James Frederick Evans, Jr. They would wed on Dec. 16, 1944, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Constantia, N.Y. James had enlisted in the U.S. Navy the previous year, and served till the end of World War II.
After the war Barbara and James (affectionately known as Bobsie and Jim) lived a short while in the Capital District of New York, before moving back to Jim’s hometown Syracuse, and settled down in the Cazenovia area for the remainder of their 65-year marriage. This is where they raised three children, James, Margaret and Bradshaw, and where Bobsie would become immersed in community activities in Syracuse, most notably with the Junior League of Syracuse and the Cerebral Palsy Center. She also sponsored Fresh Air Kids from underserved communities in New York City to come live at her home for part of the summer in Cazenovia for a number of years.
Later she dedicated her time to several organizations in Cazenovia, receiving the Cazenovia Republican’s Civic Appreciation Award in 1982. Bobsie was one of earliest and most ardent advocates for recycling and other environmental efforts and did this before Earth Day was established. She would go on to dedicate her time to several organizations including the Cazenovia Performing Arts Guild where she would bring fine arts programs to the Cazenovia Central School District, Caz Cares, Friends of Lorenzo, the Stone Quarry Art Park, the Key at St. Peter’s Church, and the Refugee Resettlement program. One of her favorite activities was as chair of Cazenovia’s Winter Festival.
Bobsie remained very close to her two older sisters and their families her entire life. All three sisters lived into their late 90s, and spent time every year vacationing together at the Bradshaw family farm in Mariaville , N.Y. She also loved spending time on the beach at Cape Cod with her family and close friends.
Bobsie is survived by her children, Margaret Evans Lane of Cazenovia, Bradshaw Allen Evans (Shawna) of Barrington, RI. Her eldest son, James Frederick Evans III (Mary) of Cazenovia, died a year after his mother in 2023. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Elizabeth Lane (Richard Fraschilla); Emily Lane-Meija (Piero); Christopher Lane, Samantha Evans and Bradshaw Evans; and two great grandchildren, Lucie Charlotte Mejia and Madeline Evans Fraschilla.
A service in memory of Bobsie will be held at 1 p.m. July 22, 2023, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 10 Mill Street in Cazenovia.
