Barbara Sassone |
| Posted 2009-08-17 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Monday, August 10, 2009 Barbara Sassone passed away peacefully on June 27, 2009, after having three bouts with familial cancer in 12 years. She was born in Brooklyn, on Nov. 10, 1950 and moved to Prescott in 2000. Barbara was a talented photographer, illustrator, editor, writer and poet, and had publications in each genre. Her autobiographical book of poetry, Pinch Me, was published recently. She studied writing at the University of Denver (B.A. in English in 1982), at Princeton University (Creative Writing Award in 1985), and at Yavapai College. Barbara loved children, cats, art, reading, movies, landscape gardening, cooking and traveling. She was very generous and supportive to her family, friends and worthy charities. Her working life included a housing restoration business in Denver, park and recreation site selection for the state of Missouri, and helping Princeton faculty and students with grant applications. She also raised millions of dollars in funding for cold war scholarly exchanges with Soviet bloc countries, for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, for the Balch Institute of Ethnic Studies, and for the New Jersey Public Television Network, where she served as Vice President and COO of the NJN Foundation before she became disabled in 1995. She and her husband were invited to Eastern European countries in 1991, after the U.S.S.R. collapsed, to advise them on setting up new competitive grant programs for scholars. Barbara will be sorely missed by her husband of 31-years, Doug Johnson; by her sister, Charlene Lavinger of Cave Creek; by her brother and sister-in-law, Fred and Sylvia Sassone of Zuni, N.M.; as well as by her nieces, nephews, in-laws, cousins and extended family in Gilbert, Santa Fe, Missouri and New York. Her friends and colleagues across the country will also miss her greatly. She was a rare spirit who touched and brightened. Information provided by survivors. |
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