Obituary: Barbara Lahage

Barbara Lahage, 83

Barbara Susann Lahage of Hingham died on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. She was 83 years old.

Ms. Lahage was the daughter of the late Henry Thomas and Mary Rita (Crossen) Lahage. Her father was the president of Abe Lahage, Inc., the Lahage family business, and her mother was a registered nurse. Ms. Lahage is survived by many cousins and their families.

Ms. Lahage grew up in Hull, where she worked summers at the family business. She attended Archbishop Williams High School and received a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Mount Holyoke College. She went on to receive a master’s degree in political science from Boston College.

After college, Ms. Lahage moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked for Massachusetts Sen. Benjamin Smith, who had been appointed to serve out the remaining term of John Kennedy after Kennedy was elected president in 1960. When Edward Kennedy was elected senator in 1962, Ms. Lahage joined his staff as a legislative aide. She was a member of Senator Kennedy’s staff until 1970, when she became executive assistant to the president of Clark University.

During the early 1970s, she worked with Massachusetts Congressman Gerry Studds and as a campaign manager for Rosemarie Sansone’s successful campaign for Boston City Council. In 1978, Ms. Lahage became the director of the Massachusetts Recovery Team, which guided the state’s rebuilding efforts following the memorable blizzard that devastated coastal towns that year.

In 1983, Ms. Lahage joined the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, where she served as a program manager until her retirement in 2002.

Ms. Lahage loved good books and good conversations. She relished traveling the globe with her friends and with her aunts. She served on the Hull Cultural Council and the Friends of the Hull Public Library.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to greet the family during the visitation on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Pyne Keohane Funeral Home, 21 Emerald St., Hingham.

For online condolences, visit www.keohane.com.