Barbara Jean Kuczun Nelson

WINSLOW – It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Barbara Jean Kuczun Nelson, 77, cherished wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and friend, on Sunday, July 14, 2024.

Barbara, a long-time resident of Maine, was the first-born child of Mona and Chester Kuczun of Boxford, Mass. Born in Chicago, Ill. on Sept. 13, 1946, she was the oldest of four children. Barbara was the beloved wife of Paul Scott Nelson, who steadfastly cared for her, and loved her deeply throughout their 55-year marriage. She was mother to two children, Amy Catherine Nelson and Daniel Kuczun Nelson, and grandmother to Genevieve Aurelia Robinson.

During her childhood, Barbara grew up in Reading, Mass. and later moved to Boxford, Mass., where she attended Masconomet High School. Barbara graduated from Colby College (Class of 1968) in Waterville, Maine with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Spanish. She obtained a Master of Liberal Arts degree from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt. in 1971.

While studying at Colby College, Barbara met her husband, Paul Scott Nelson. They married on Feb. 16, 1969, in Boxford, Mass. After marrying, they moved to Waterville, Maine, where Barbara taught Spanish at Lawrence High School in Fairfield before joining the faculty at Colby College where she was an Associate Professor of Spanish, Emerita, for 36 years. Barbara was a vibrant, gifted teacher, who energetically shared her love of learning and Spanish with her students with unparalleled passion.

For many years, Barbara was a member of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Waterville, Maine and served as senior warden, vestry member, acolyte director and member of the choir. She was an active Waterville resident, who volunteered weekly at the Universalist Unitarian Church, making meals at the Evening Sandwich Program.

In addition to being an avid reader, who planted and cared for breathtaking, beautiful perennial gardens, she was a lifelong advocate of women. When she was pregnant with her first child, she was denied sick leave benefits during her maternity leave by her employer. This prompted Barbara to bring a discrimination case against her local school district that resulted in the Maine Human Rights Commission gaining the right for all pregnant teachers to receive paid maternity benefits. She was very proud of this accomplishment. Throughout her life, Barbara was a passionate friend and fighter for justice.

Barbara truly shined as a teacher in her classroom. Her students loved her, and she was incredibly passionate about teaching Spanish. She took many, many groups of students to Spain and South America throughout her long career. Her trips to Ecuador brought her tremendous joy. She deeply enjoyed traveling, exploring the city of Quito, trying new foods, developing friendships with the people who lived in South America, and experiencing total immersion into the culture and language. People often commented that they thought Barbara was a native-Spanish speaker from Spain because of her beautiful accent and mastery of grammar.

During the course of her celebrated career, Barbara designed and developed an internationally award-winning website (https://personal.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index-2.html) of interactive study modules that is used in over 115 countries. For this work, she was awarded the MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) Editors’ Choice Award. MERLOT gave this award, the highest award of honor for all disciplines, for the first time in September 2002 to recognize and promote outstanding online resources designed to enhance teaching and learning and to honor the authors and developers of these resources for their contributions to the academic community. Barbara’s website is renowned and used by teachers and students around the world. The emails, letters and phone calls of praise and appreciation that Barbara received for this website, which she made available for free to others, meant a lot to her. She was a sincere and passionate teacher, and her energy in the classroom was infectious. She was a mentor and advisor both inside and outside of the classroom.

Barbara will be deeply missed by her family, who loved her very much. She is survived by her brothers, James “Jim” Kuczun of Kentucky and Carl Kuczun of Massachusetts, and by her sister, Virginia “Ginia” Kuczun Cahill of Texas.

Arrangements are under the direction and care of Aable Cremation Service, Waterville. An online guestbook may be signed, condolences and memories shared at http://www.aablecremationservice.com.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Evening Sandwich Program, where she volunteered for many years. To donate: https://uucwaterville.com/evening-sandwich-program