Barbara Eckstrom

Barbara (Shores) Eckstrom, 94, of Bristol passed away on Friday May 1, 2020 at The Pines at Bristol. She was the widow of Roy Eckstrom who died in 1999. Born in Bristol, she was the daughter of the late John and Velda Shores. “Bobbie” as she was known to a lot of family and friends operated Bobbie’s Cleaners in the center of Forestville along with her husband back in the ‘40’s. She was employed later in life by Jewels by Stanlee for 17 years. She was a familiar face among volunteers at Red Cross blood drives. She was a long-time member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church where she served on numerous committees, was a former superintendent of the Sunday school as well as choir member for 40 years. Besides her husband and family, the joy of her life was volunteering (“her job”) at the Bristol Hospital for 14 years, putting in over 23000 hours of service. For this she received a Humanitarian Service Award from the Boys and Girls Clubs in 2004. If you were one of the lucky ones you got from Barbara, her infectious smile along with a huge hug. Barbara is survived by three sons, David Eckstrom, Paul Eckstrom, and John Eckstrom and wife Judy, one daughter , Nancy Swider and husband David, all of Bristol, a brother Fred Shores and wife Pam of E. Haddam, seven grandchildren, Wendy Zimmerman, Heather Eckstrom, Mackenzie Cote, Brenton Eckstrom, Amanda Kasparian, Sara Swider and Emily Eckstrom along with eight great-grandchildren, Sam, Tage and Ada Zimmerman, Adelaide and Piper Cote, Wyatt Eckstrom, Ella and Anthony Kasparian as well as several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her oldest brother, John Shores, who is survived by his wife Theresa of Bristol. The family would like to thank the staff at The Pines for their wonderful care, as well as Chris Duhaime and his staff at Funk Funeral Home for their incredible help, support and guidance through this journey. There will be a private burial at Forestville Cemetery. Memorial donations for Barbara can be made to Bristol Hospital Foundation, Volunteer Fund, PO Box 977, Bristol, Ct. 06011-0977. Funk Funeral Home, 35 Bellevue Ave., Bristol, is honored to serve the Eckstrom family. Please visit Barbara’s memorial website at www.FunkFuneralHome.com

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