Amherst, Barbara McGarrah, whose work resulted in Amherst, MA becoming the first town in the United States to fly both the American and United Nations flags, died December 13 at the Elizabeth De Rham Hospice in Cambridge.

She said the flag was a symbol of continuing US support for the UN and a statement of “hope for the world.” She left a bequest for Amherst to continue to fly the flag. She was 95.

Ms. McGarrah was a docent for many years at the Emily Dickinson House in Amherst and at the Woodrow Wilson House in Washington D.C. A 1989 New York Times Magazine article cited her work at the Dickinson home.  

She was one of the earliest advocates of integrating learning disabled children into regular classes in the public schools. In 1954, she argued successfully for her daughter Anne Louise, who had Williams Syndrome, to attend regular public school classes in Ithaca, NY.

Her husband of 52 years, University of Massachusetts Business School Professor Robert McGarrah, died in 1995 and her daughter, Anne Louise, died in 2006. She is survived by her two sons, both lawyers, Douglas of Wenham, MA and Robert of Bethesda, MD, along with seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. 

A graveside service will be held today, Thursday at 10:30 AM in West Cemetery, Amherst.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations for the United Nations Children’s Fund, www.unicefusa.org/tribute or 125 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038.