Barbara Anne Lunny

Barbara Anne Lunny, 57, of Coconut Creek, Florida, passed away on December 1st, 2014, leaving behind to cherish her memory her beloved son, Christian Michael Ortiz, of Hanover, New Hampshire and Coconut Creek. Barbara will be forever remembered by all who knew her as a loving mother, daughter, sister, colleague and friend. Barbara was born on June 9, 1957 in Hempstead, New York to Carolyn Anne Lunny and the late James Edward Lunny. Barbara grew up in Redding, Connecticut as the second of seven children and graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a Bachelor of Science degree in hotel restaurant administration. After graduation, New York City called to Barbara and she began her career at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan as an assistant manager, after which she worked at the Vista International Hotel at the World Trade Center as banquet sales manager. It was in New York City that Barbara met her former husband, the late Ronald Ortiz. After her son, Christian was born, the lure of Florida beckoned and Barbara, Ron and Christian moved to Pembroke Pines. Barbara and Christian later moved to Coconut Creek in 1995. While in Florida, Barbara continued her work in hospitality as catering sales manager at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott North. Most recently, Barbara was director of catering at the Hollywood Beach Marriott in Hollywood, where she found a special talent in helping brides-to-be plan their special day. Barbara knew that each wedding was a family event, and because family was everything to Barbara, she worked to make every event special. Barbara applied the same attention to detail for every event that she planned, no matter the size of the event. Her talents will be missed. Barbara treasured spending time with her son, Christian, and reveled in his accomplishments. There was nothing more important to Barbara than Christian and the rest of her family. Barbara is survived by her loving son, Christian Michael, her mother, Carolyn Lunny, and her four brothers and two sisters - James and his wife, Patricia, of New Jersey, Pamela of Connecticut, Steven and his wife, Fran Fulton, of California, David and his wife, Ann Beyer, of Massachusetts, Paul of South Carolina and Karen Seltzer and her husband, Marc, of New Hampshire - along with numerous nieces and nephews, and other family members. Visitation at Fred Hunter's Funeral Home, 6301 Taft Street, in Hollywood, Florida on Saturday, December 6th from 1-2 pm with a service to celebrate Barbara's life beginning at 2:00 pm. The family plans to have a private memorial service in New Hampshire. The family would like to thank the wonderful staff of the Intensive Care Unit at both Memorial Regional and West Hospitals, who cared for Barbara in her final days as she battled advanced stage acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations may be made to either the Memorial Foundation of the Memorial Healthcare System by dedicating a Memorial Angel to honor the wonderful caregivers that cared for Barbara (at either www.jdchf.org or www.mhsfoundation.org), the Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Hollywood Florida Scholarship Foundation's Grapes for Grades (www.hollywoodscholarship.org), or the Southern Florida Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.