Barbara Bowman Allison, 81, of Naples, Fla., and Boothbay Harbor, died November 1, 2012 in Naples.

She was born in Douglaston, Long Island, N.Y., to parents Virginia and Waldo Bowman. She attended schools in Long Island until she enrolled at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. While there, she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

She worked briefly in New York City after graduating and then returned to Williamsburg to work for Colonial Williamsburg. There she reconnected with a college classmate, William C. Allison IV, who had been serving in the military during the Korean Conflict and had returned to finish college.

The two were married in May, 1956 and made their home in Wellesley, Mass., for the next 38 years. In Wellesley, Barbara was very involved with charitable organizations, serving as president of the Wellesley Service League, Wellesley Garden Club, and the Wellesley Circle of the Florence Crittenton League.

In Maine, she so enjoyed the numerous years of cruising along the coast as a member of both the Down East Yacht Club and the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club. She was a member of the Boothbay Region Garden Club and for a number of years served on the Board of Overseers of the Bayville Village Corporation, the legal entity of her cherished summer community.

In 1984, she and Bill bought a condominium in Naples which became their major residence when he retired in 1991. She volunteered at the Conservancy of SW Florida as long as her health permitted. Barbara enjoyed gardening, and the frequent visits of her children and grandchildren to both Naples and her devoted “Hardscrabble” in Bayville.

Barbara loved books; and from 1996 to 2002 she served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Library of the College of William and Mary. She was also a member of many book clubs; perhaps due to the legacy of her father (an editor and publisher of a McGraw Hill magazine) and an uncle who was head of the English Department at the University of Kansas.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a young son, William Bowman Allison.

She is survived by her loving husband and children: Jeffrey H. Allison of Wellesley Hills, Mass.; Laura Allison of Plymouth, N.H.; William C. Allison V of Denver, Colo., and his wife Jillian; as well as Karen McNamara of Wayne, Maine and her husband Padraic. She is also survived by grandchildren Aidan, William and Jeffrey Allison Jr., and by Liam and Brian McNamara, and her sister Joann Duncan of Naples.

In keeping with her wishes there will be no formal service, but those who wish to remember her may contribute to the charity of their choice or to the Allison Library Endowment Fund, Attention: Lee S. Foster, Director of Leadership Gifts, the College of William and Mary, P.O. Box 8795 Williamsburg, VA 23187.