Barbara Anne Spooner (23 Jun 1948 - 26 Aug 2026)

In loving memory of Barbara Anne Spooner who sadly passed away on 26th August 2026
Barbara was born at the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies in Woolwich and grew up in Eltham with her mum, dad and 5 siblings. She attended Greenacres Junior School before going on to Crown Woods Secondary School.
Barbara left school at the age of 15 and began working as a typist at Waterloo Station, where she typed up the timetables for the trains.
It was during her teenage years that Barbara met Cyril, affectionately known by everyone as her beloved “Chappie.” They married in 1965 and went on to build a wonderful life together. They had two children, Melanie and Jason, and later Barbara became a very proud Nanna to five grandchildren — Samantha (Sammy), Lucinda (Bubba Lute), Tiffany (Tiff), Ellysha (Nanna’s princess) and Jonathan (Joffy) — and four great-grandchildren — Caitlin, Alfie, Layla and Harper. They were all loved dearly by Barbara and brought her so much joy and pride.
Barbara was a hardworking woman throughout her life and held many different jobs. She worked as a typist, a Local Government Officer for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, a receptionist, a secretary at a local GP surgery, and later as a receptionist for the out-of-hours “Grab a Doc” service.
But work was only one part of Barbara’s life. She absolutely loved going on holiday and travelling.
Her holidays began with camping trips along the Kent coast. Then, in the early 1970s, Barbara took her first flight to Spain — and from that moment on, there was no stopping her! Her travels took her to many wonderful places, including Barbados, Acapulco, Florida, Miami, Egypt, Malta, Cyprus and Kenya, to name just a few.
One of her most memorable adventures was organising a surprise 25th wedding anniversary present for Chappie — a flight on Concorde. It was certainly a trip neither of them would ever forget.
Then, in 1992, came another chapter in Barbara’s life — one that would lead to countless adventures and friendships.
Chappie was watching Joe Longthorne on television one evening and said, “I’d like to see him live.” So, naturally, Barbara booked them both tickets to see him at the Royal Albert Hall.
Well… the rest is history!
For anyone who knew Barbara, you will know exactly what happened next. She became a devoted follower of Joe Longthorne, travelling up and down the country to see him perform. She would even wave him off at airports, attend court hearings, and travel abroad to Spain and Cyprus to watch him perform.
Chappie probably couldn’t complain too much — after all, it was his fault that she had started following Joe in the first place!
When Joe sadly passed away in 2019, Barbara remained connected with the many friends she had made through those years. She even attended Joe’s funeral in Blackpool and would visit his grave whenever she went up there.
That was Barbara — loyal, passionate, determined and always ready for her next adventure.
In 2001, Barbara took early retirement so that she could spend more time with Chappie, following his brain tumour in 1997 and bladder cancer in 2001. They continued to enjoy their holidays together and bought a caravan, where they loved spending time together and, of course, having the grandchildren come to stay.
Chappie sadly passed away in December 2025, and Barbara never truly recovered from losing him. In the last few months, she would often tell people that he hadn’t passed away and that he was still with her. It was incredibly sad to see, and her family & friends were very worried about her.
On 24th August, Barbara became unwell and was being sick. This continued into the following day, when the doctor was called and paramedics came out to see her. At first, everything appeared to be okay. However, when Barbara was sick again, an ambulance was called immediately and she was taken to hospital.
Sadly, Barbara passed away the following day, on 26th August.
The cause of death was aspiration pneumonia caused by a spontaneous bowel obstruction. There was sadly nothing the hospital could do. Barbara also had underlying heart failure, osteoarthritis and hypertension, which we had not been aware of.
Barbara’s heart finally gave up its fight on 26th August, with Sammy holding her hand and Joffy by her side.
Although losing Barbara is incredibly painful, we honestly believe that her heart was broken after losing her beloved Chappie.
We find some comfort in believing that she can finally be at peace, free from pain and sadness, and reunited once again with the man she loved for more than 60 years.
Barbara was a loving wife, mum, Nana, great-Nana, sister, friend and so much more to so many people. She lived a full life, filled with family, friendships, laughter, travel, adventures, and many wonderful memories.
She will be missed more than words can say, but she will never be forgotten.
Rest peacefully, Barbara.
Back with your Chappie, where you belong.
Forever loved. Forever missed.