Mrs. Barbara Ziffrin Meek

Barbara Ann Ziffrin Meek -- 60, of Indianapolis, passed away in her sleep last Tuesday morning due to complications with Multiple Sclerosis. Born in Chicago in 1948 to David and Ann Ziffrin, Barbara moved with her family to Indianapolis in the summer of 1962 where she soon enrolled as a freshman at North Central High School. With her good looks and easy-going personality, Barbara was an immediate hit with her peers and was elected to the school's student Senate for each of the following four years. After North Central, Barbara attended and graduated from Indiana State University, overcoming learning disabilities caused by her mother's decision to change her from a left-handed to a right-handed person early in her developmental years. Fortunately, Barbara always maintained a great attitude about her dyslexia, one of the many obstacles that she dealt with throughout her life, and harbored no bitterness towards her mother, a nurse at Methodist Hospital. After college, Barbara's grandmother, Bessie Timmons, paid for Barbara to study Spanish in Madrid, Spain. She immediately developed an impressive fluency in the language, leading her to teach the subject at Northview Middle School upon her return to the States. Barbara was extremely popular amongst her students at Northview and helped turn around a struggling language department. Sadly, in 1978, Barbara contracted Multiple Sclerosis. This disease plagued her for the rest of her life, but led to her acquaintance with Perry R. Meek, whom she married in 1993, who also has MS. Proud to be of Russian-Jewish decent, Barbara maintained a strong belief in God. The biggest event in her life occurred when, during one of her periods of great illness, Barbara had an out-of-body experience during which God told her to believe in His son, Jesus. Barbara recalls telling God that she could not do so because she was Jewish. God responded by informing her that Jesus was too. Barbara was extremely moved by this experience, resulting a short time later in her decision to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Barbara is survived by her devoted husband of 15 years, Perry Meek, and her beloved Lhasa Apsa, Margie. Visiting hours will be held at the Crown Hill cemetery on Friday, February 13th from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., with a memorial service and burial to follow.