lifestyle

Barbara O'Neal Braun

Barbara O'Neal Braun of Verona, New Jersey, died Tuesday, April 8, 2008. A memorial service in her honor was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Verona on April 13.

Barbara was born in Manchester, Georgia, but moved to the Panama Canal Zone, Republic of Panama, with her parents as a very young child. Barbara lived in the Canal Zone until after her graduation from high school, when she left Panama to attend and graduate from LaGrange College in Georgia.

After graduating from LaGrange, Barbara taught high school Spanish for a year while her new husband, Philip Braun, finished college. She then moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where Phil was stationed as a member of the US Navy. Here, as Director of Programs and Field Operations for Head Start, Barbara used her strong organizational skills and her love of helping people to begin to develop her expertise in working with nonprofits.

Later, moving to Phil's home state of New Jersey, Barbara worked as Head Start Director for Essex County Youth and Economic Rehabilitation Commission, Assistant Director/Training and Conference Coordinator for Head Start Regional Training Office Rutgers University, Senior Community Services Planner Department of Citizens Services/Division of Community Action Essex County, Consultant for HAVE Enterprises, Montclair, NJ.

After the birth of her son Sean, Barbara left the work force to become a full time mom. As Sean began to grow up, she had time to discover her creative side. Growing up in Panama had given Barbara an enormous love and appreciation for the land, cultures, and native plants and animals of Panama. She used this love as an inspiration when she developed her artistic talents into a career as a folk artist. Working from home Barbara marketed her Panama inspired work through Bohio Art S.A., and her more traditional work through Edenwild Handiworks.

At the same time Barbara continued to help people and serve her community as an active volunteer. She served for many years as the coordinator and facilitator of Rainbows, a program for grieving children. She was both an elder and a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church of Verona. Barbara worked tirelessly to maintain and improve the Verona Park through her work with the Verona Park Conservancy, where she served as vice president.

Barbara is survived by her husband Philip and her son Sean; her mother Ruth O'Neal; her sister Margaret Wellborn and brother-in-law Hadley, niece Kirsten and nephew William and his family, Tracey Thaler, and Lily and Benjamin Wellborn; her sister Alice Grove and brother-in-law Bill, niece Jana Grove Ferguson and Jana's husband Josh; and the many, many dear friends she has also loved during her lifetime.

Donations in memory of Barb may be made to the Verona Park Conservancy, Attn: Phyllis Friedman, 13 Brentwood Drive, Verona, NJ 07044.