Barbara Whidden Chatham, 76, of Boca Grande died Wednesday.
Well-loved in Boca Grande, Barbara Ann (Whidden) Chatham was born July 26, 1935, in Tampa to Sam and Leslie Whidden
She is survived by a daughter, Jean Allen of Englewood; a son, David Chatham of Boca Grande, a sister, Isabelle Whidden Joiner of Boca Grande; and four grandchildren.
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Barbara Whidden Chatham, 76
Together, with her sister and other family members, she had helped run Whidden's Marina since she was a child interrupted only by attending beauty school in Tampa, a move to Indian Rocks Beach and a stint in California where she married Grady "Pete" Chatham before returning to Boca Grande in 1967.
She also helped found the Gasparilla Island Maritime Museum next to the marina.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 4 p.m. Monday at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Boca Grande.
