Barbara was a lovely person. We grew up as next-door neighbors. We hung in different crowds in high school and I left Springfield right after college. I didn't reconnect with her until about 7 or 8 years ago. She worked at the JCC with the senior citizens and my mom, who teaches Mah Jongg to seniors, worked with her often and thought the world of her. We connected online and kept in touch infrequently that way. I was shocked to learn she had passed. My mom didn't tell me Barbara was ill until she was gone. Here is an odd but true fact: as she and I walked to Duggan Jr. High School one clear morning in 9th grade, we saw a UFO that came out of nowhere, stopped dead in the sky, and then after about 15 seconds, it took off at a 90 degree angle from the direction it came from and moved so fast it was out of sight in seconds! It was a blue, cloudless sky. The UFO didn't make any noise at all. It was silver and "cigar shaped." We didn't think anyone would beleive us so we didn't say anything. I have believed in UFOs since that day. Surprisingly, when I asked Barbara about it when we reconnected, she had no memory of the incident at all!
Roberta Feldman (Orenstein)
Barbara was diagnosed with cancer in Dec.08. She died shortly after her 60th birthday in April, 09.
Marla Mindell (Sather)
Barbara was a lovely person. We grew up as next-door neighbors. We hung in different crowds in high school and I left Springfield right after college. I didn't reconnect with her until about 7 or 8 years ago. She worked at the JCC with the senior citizens and my mom, who teaches Mah Jongg to seniors, worked with her often and thought the world of her. We connected online and kept in touch infrequently that way. I was shocked to learn she had passed. My mom didn't tell me Barbara was ill until she was gone. Here is an odd but true fact: as she and I walked to Duggan Jr. High School one clear morning in 9th grade, we saw a UFO that came out of nowhere, stopped dead in the sky, and then after about 15 seconds, it took off at a 90 degree angle from the direction it came from and moved so fast it was out of sight in seconds! It was a blue, cloudless sky. The UFO didn't make any noise at all. It was silver and "cigar shaped." We didn't think anyone would beleive us so we didn't say anything. I have believed in UFOs since that day. Surprisingly, when I asked Barbara about it when we reconnected, she had no memory of the incident at all!