Barbara was born to Alfred and Virginia (Reisch) Mancuso on August 22, 1942 in Queens, NY. She attended Richmond Hill High School where she met her husband Anthony Grazia on the bus going to school. At first, she fixed him up with a friend for a date, but he later confessed that he really wanted to date her. They married on June 17th, 1961 and raised their children Tony and Connie in Glendale, NY until 1976 when they moved to Pearl River, NY.
It was there that Barbara began her career with Materials Research Corporation, a subsidiary of SONY. Having been a homemaker for 13 years, she began as a receptionist. In true Barbara form, she was soon running the place. She retired as Facilities Manager after 25 years.
In 2001 she and Anthony moved to Bluffton, SC to retire and made many new friends as well as reconnected with some old ones. In Bluffton she lived just around the corner from her sister, Carol Kuster, and they enjoyed sharing a garden plot, dinners, vacations, and competitive games of Mexican Train together.
Barbara was a warrior and faced a devastating disease with courage and grace, ever grateful for the love and support of her family, friends, and medical team. Barbara was the ultimate pack leader and was rarely without a pet. She volunteered at the Animal Shelter and was a strong advocate for all animals. She was a world traveler, an avid gardener, a bird watcher, a gifted stained-glass artist, an enthusiastic cook, and a Scrabble shark.
She was a devoted wife to Anthony Grazia, loving mother to Tony and Karen Grazia and Connie Grazia and Karen Graff, a kind grandmother to Summer Graff, Grayson Grazia, Sierra Grazia, Saige Grazia and Jolie Grazia, a thoughtful sister to Carol Kuster and Christine Pellegrino, and a dedicated cousin to Leslie Coven.
We will miss her deeply and know that her love will be with us always. ALS took many things from her, but her heart, her humor, her kindness and her beauty remained.
Friends and family are invited to a Celebration of Life Service on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 11:00am followed by a 12:00-3:00pm lunch at The Candlewood Lake Inn, 506 Candlewood Lake Rd., Brookfield, CT 06804. http://www.thecandlewoodinn.com/
A Celebration of Life gathering is also being planned in Bluffton, SC. Details to come.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Maranatha Farm Animal Rescue https://www.maranathafarm.net/donations or the ALS Association of Connecticut, http://alsact.org
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