Barbara Anne Rudnicki

Barbara Ann Rudnicki, born October 28, 1942 to Frances and Gertrude Rudnicki, died on June 12, 2026 in Naples, Florida, where she had lived for many years. An excellent student involved in choir, hockey and cheerleading, Barbara received her high school diploma from Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, PA. A graduate of East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, Barbara taught Mathematics for the school year 1964-65 in Southold High School on Long Island, NY. She then went on to work for IBM in a number of different locations in the US and Germany. Always having varied interests and wanting to learn new things, Barbara mastered the art of calligraphy and also became fluent in American Sign Language.

After a 26-year career with Big Blue in varying roles including Systems Analyst and management, Barbara retired but did not stop working. She became a member of Toastmasters International from which she earned the highest status of accredited speakers -the Distinguished Toastmaster Award in 1992. Barbara began her own motivational speaking business (RCE) to use and share the strategies and methods she'd learned. Always the teacher, Barbara used her skills as an organizer, manager, and speaker to educate those in business who called upon her to motivate their staff and to improve working relationships, business practices and results. She authored the book "Pack Your Own Parachute" as another means to share her insights.

Barbara was an avid model train enthusiast and, along with her brother, had constructed a model train layout in her home in FL which took up a vast space for which a special train house had been built when she had the entire layout moved to Raleigh, NC, where she lived for a number of years. The layout included multiple tracks, an entire city and countryside which included mountains, lakes, a power plant and roundhouse that accommodated at least 6 of the engines. Barbara donned an engineer's cap and loved it when visitors came to see the trains in motion on the magnificent layout.

Barbara loved music and played piano her whole life. Occasionally she played in local Senior Centers, then, when she moved into a Senior Living Residence herself, her two, or sometimes three times a week piano sessions would draw many of the residents to the living room where Barbara not only played music the listeners enjoyed, but often made the occasion an educational one, with questions about each piece for the residents to try and answer. Barbara loved the interaction with her neighbors.

In addition to trains and music, Barbara loved sewing, making many of her own clothes when she was younger, as well as children's items for little ones in her life. She'd won a Singer sewing machine in a sewing contest as a youngster. Barbara loved watching professional tennis matches any time of year and putting together jigsaw puzzles with other puzzle lovers. She also fiercely loved her pets - a well-trained parakeet that would sit on her shoulder and "talk" back to Barbara's chirping, two tuxedo cats named Sebastian, and Missy, and Chessie, a shy calico she took in and taught how to trust.

Predeceased by her parents, Barbara is survived by a brother, Leo Rudnicki, his two sons, David and Mark, a sister Virginia, and sister Fran (Jon) Fletcher, who stayed close by her side and brought comfort to her in Barbara's last days. Having influenced and been influenced greatly by members of the Czartosieski family of Southold NY, Barbara had virtually become a part of that family and will be greatly missed by all of them. She also leaves behind many friends and acquaintances from her varied paths in life.