Barbara Axelrod

Born March 12, 1927, she grew up in a family of four sisters and was an honor roll student at Swampscott High School, who worked summers in the Catskills to earn tuition for Boston University. She graduated 1948 with a degree in Practical Arts and Letters, which combined secretarial skills with art history.

On April 3, 1949, she married Maynard Axelrod, a chemical engineer who founded Maynard Plastics of Salem. Barbara passed on to their two children, Steven and Joan, an appreciation of food, culture, outdoor activities, and education. She enjoyed socializing with friends and family and spending winters in Florida.

Her longtime caregiver Margaret Kigundu kept her spirits high despite declining health and the loss of Maynard in 2013. She leaves her children Steven Axelrod and his wife Sandra of NY and Joan Axelrod-Contrada and her husband Fred of Northampton as well as grandchildren, Benjamin, Nicholas, Amanda, Rio, Eric, and Zoë.

Services will be held Monday, March 7, 2016 at 11AM at the Stanetsky-Hymanson Memorial Chapel, 10 Vinnin St, SALEM, MA. Interment will be at Temple Emanuel Cemetery, Danvers. In lieu of flowers expressions of sympathy in her memory may be made to Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan St., Danvers, MA 01923 or the charity of one’s choice.