2019/08/obit-zappone-OBIt-and-Hair-219x300.jpgOn Saturday, Aug. 10, the Lord peacefully received Barbara Elizabeth Zappone into his loving arms.
Barbara was the loving wife of David for over 50 years, devoted mother to her four children: Laura, Michael, Matthew and Phillip, and doting grandmother to her six grandchildren: Gabby, Arakel, Emily, Jason, Abby and Elias. She was also a loving sister and companion to her three remaining siblings: Ruth, Marilyn and Nancy. Barbara sat squarely at the center of her family’s collective worlds. She was always a selfless, quiet and family-focused woman from whom many lessons could be learned. For over 40 years, Barbara dedicated herself to serving others through her career as a registered nurse across New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. She started her career at Flushing Nursing School in Flushing, N.Y. Always a proponent of self-improvement, Barbara went back to school to earn her bachelor’s in nursing from Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., graduating with honors.
She had a number of interests such as crafting, sewing, bridge, reading and spending time with her grandchildren. Her children recall Mom and Dad making a fantastic team who strived to balanced structure with spontaneity, discipline with understanding, and temper frustration with love. Later in life, Barbara suffered from a form of Parkinson’s. True to form, she still wrote Christmas and birthday cards every year, always feeling the need to apologize for her increasingly poor penmanship. As with all challenges in her life, Barbara battled the disease which would ultimately rob her of most physical activity. Unfortunately, her recent fall led to a downward spiral from which she couldn’t recover. Still, she maintained her dry wit and sly smile to the end.
Barbara’s family celebrated Mass and her life at Saint Patrick’s Episcopal Church on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; the website is https://www.michaeljfox.org/.
May God keep her in his loving embrace from now until the end of time.
