CURRENT CELEBRATIONS

Barbara A. Cirillo

Barbara never met a stranger. She could talk to anyone, anywhere, about anything, and probably did. She had her own way of speaking, her own little phrases and words that only made sense to her, but somehow everyone got the message. And if you ever had a conversation with her, odds are you heard the phrase “ya know?” at least a dozen times. In her younger days, she hustled hard, working multiple jobs, doing whatever it took to raise her young kids. Barbara loved to dance. She always knew where the local dances were, and she never missed a chance to get out on the floor. She could do the jitterbug like nobody’s business and was a huge fan of American Bandstand. The Rolling Stones were a favorite. Barbara met the late Phillip and a first date at a drive-in movie followed by cheesesteaks at Pat’s led to a 50 year marriage.

Her children nicknamed her “Barbie” and it stuck, turning her into many different versions of Barbie. She was best known as “Dr. Barbie,” always armed with a purse full of remedies. Headache? Stomachache? Mystery pain? “Get me my purse,” she’d say, and there was probably a pill in there for you. She was a huge movie fan, especially the old classics. AMC, Turner Movie Classics, anything with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. But if you really wanted to see her in her element, it was when she was deep into a Korean soap opera. She’d watched every one on Netflix, probably twice, usually late into the night. Barbara was a true night owl. She might be cooking pasta at midnight or chatting away with her kids’ friends until the sun came up.

She loved to cook, she’d been doing it since she was young, and she was really good at it. As much as Barbara loved to cook, she loved going out to eat more. Her favorite spots were Tucker’s on LBI, the diner, and Prospectors, though to her it was “Ponderosa.” Barbara had a sweet tooth, a big heart, and a brain that never stopped turning. She loved deep conversations, flipping through family photos, and hearing about new technology, even if she never planned to use it.

Barbara was a great mom and a devoted grandmom. Affectionately known as “Mimi”, she loved her grandkids beyond words. She couldn’t always chase them around like she wanted to, but she never missed a chance to purchase something for them through Amazon, flip through pictures of them every night or tell a funny story from her own childhood. Mimi had a way of making the kids laugh, just by being herself.

Barbara is predeceased by her husband Phillip, her brother Robert Harris, and
her parents John and Thelma Harris. She is survived by her children, Robert (Flory) Rose, Ann-Marie “Buffy” Colonna (Steve) and Brian (Julia) Cirillo; grandchildren, Kaitlyn (Joe), Joshua, Jennifer, Patrick, Junior, Gianna, Shane, Ian and Owen; and her sister in-law Daine Harris, sister in-law Carolyn (Quindean) Cane and brother in-law Joe (Connie) Cirillo.

Come Celebrate 79 great years on Thursday July 31st from 9am-11am where there will be an 11am service at Sweeney Funeral Home Riverside. Entombment immediately to follow at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Riverside. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to: American Cancer Society Or FoxChase Cancer Center.