Barbara E. Griffin

courageously fighting Alzheimer’s for seven years. She was surrounded by her family at The Jewish

Home Assisted Living, River Vale, NJ where she received competent and compassionate care for over

two years.

Barbara is survived by her husband Jim, her brother Frank E. Lotz, her son Eric Griffin and daughter

Audrey (Griffin) Jones, son in-law Nate Jones, two grandchildren, Morgan Jones and Everett Griffin and

many loving nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her granddaughter Shannon Jones who at

the age of 7 in 2011 passed away of a rare brain cancer.

Barbara was born at home in Richmond Hills, Queens, NY on March 27, 1938 to Florence and Frank Lotz.The family then moved to Jersey City, NJ and on December 8, 1941 her brother was born.

Barbara’s education began at Holy Rosary Academy in Union City, NJ. She then earned her Associate

Degree in Advertising and Graphic Design from SUNY Farmingdale, NY in 1958. At the age of 54 she

graduated magna cum laude with a BA Degree in Communications from Nyack College, NY.

In 1965, after years of graphic design experience, Barbara was recruited to head up Corporate Identity

and Packaging for W.T. Grant’s 1200 stores. In the mid-1960s, it was highly unusual for a woman to have

such a senior position in corporate management.

Barbara was always socially conscious and active. In 1965, Barbara co-founded the Meals on Wheels

program in Jersey City, one of the first services in the country to improve the health and quality of life of

the seniors they serve. In three years, the services grew to provide 170 nutritional hot meals daily and

was recognized as one of the country’s best programs.

Barbara met her husband Jim on New Year’s Eve 1967 at a ski resort at Windham Mountain, NY. They

married on August 24, 1968 in Jersey City and began their 51 years of marriage living in West New York,

NJ, before moving to Teaneck in 1970 where they resided for 48 years and raised their two children.

Barbara and Jim were civil rights activists for many years. In the early 1970s, Barbara and Jim were

committed to the Bergen County Fair Housing Council along with like-minded residents of Teaneck to

actively oppose racial inequality, block busting and real estate discrimination. Barbara was President of three PTAs in Teaneck: Lowell Elementary School, Benjamin Franklin Middle School and Teaneck High School.

For 15 years, Barbara co-owned Creative Advertising Group which developed innovative graphic designs, logos, posters, brochures, signs, billboards, trucks and more for companies and organizations.

Barbara was a Master Calligrapher having studied the fine art of lettering in England. During the summer

she led calligraphy classes for children during the day and for adults at night. For many years, at Bergen

Community College, Hackensack, NJ she taught Essential Communication and Life Skills for non-native

English speakers. In 1995, she was honored with the college’s Literacy Volunteer of the Year award.

Barbara enjoyed playing tennis for 60 years with her dear friends. She also loved downhill and cross-country skiing, traveling the world, listening to classical music, creating oil paintings, reading fiction,

writing poetry, completing crossword puzzles, playing Mahjong, practicing Chi-Gong Meditation and

winning Scrabble games against her beloved Jim. She treasured the time with family and friends and

especially loved spending time with her three grandchildren.

Barbara had a quick wit, appreciated a good joke and could always be counted on for her common

sense, decency and honesty. She was generous with her time and expertise and was committed to

making the world a better place. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

A Memorial Visitation in Celebration of Barbara’s life will be held at Becker Funeral Home, 219

Kinderkamack Road, Westwood, NJ 07675 on Saturday June 20, 2020 from: 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM.

(Masks will be required) Telephone #201-664-0292. Since Barbara was an

active member for over 40 years, in lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Barbara’s name to The

Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, 687 Larch Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666