Barbara Barshay

Barbara Barshay died peacefully on January 1, 2020, at age 78, after a long illness. Barbara was born on June 30th, 1941 to Annette (Finkel) and Saul Pearl in New York before moving as a toddler to Hollywood, FL, where she was raised along with her younger brother, Jon. She was the beloved mother to Berna (Boris Schlossberg) and grandmother to Sienna. Barbara was a graduate of Brandeis University and Boston University, where she received her MSW. She was a social worker in the school systems of Rochelle Park and North Caldwell, NJ for many years, where she helped countless families address their children’s challenges and special needs. In her healthy years, Barbara was a voracious reader, world traveler, and consumer of M&Ms. She was adventurous, funny, and open-minded, always taking an interest in the people and world around her. She had unbounded love for her dogs, and she would consider Bobby, Arthur, Duncan, Duffy, Mickey, Freckles and many more canines to be among her predeceased. She will be greatly missed by Berna, Sienna, Jon, and her longtime caregiver, Loida Tavarez, as well as Loida’s extended family, who became Barbara’s chosen family in her later years. A memorial to celebrate Barbara’s life will be held at Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York City on Sunday, January 5th at 3 PM. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Barbara’s name to Animal Haven NYC (https://animalhaven.org/#donate), Doctors Without Borders (https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/onetime.cfm), or Friends of the Children New York (https://friendsnewyork.org/donate).