Barbara Hulse Grambow

She leaves her daughter Susan Sinden, and her husband John Sinden of Raleigh, NC; her daughter Anne Lyons and her husband Jerry Lyons of Sparta, NJ; her five grandchildren, Richard (Rachel), Elizabeth (Britten), William, Brianna, and Lauren; and her great-grandsons Gordon, Philip, and John. She was preceded in death by her parents and loving husband of 65 years, Herbert.

Barbara was born and raised in Washington, DC. In junior high school, she met and befriended Joan and her older brother Herbert, who would later become Barbara’s husband. Barbara attended the University of Maryland and became a schoolteacher.

A voracious reader, engaging storyteller, and lover of history (Winston Churchill in particular), Barbara had an impressive memory and a sharp wit up until her final day. Every morning for decades, she’d work out The New York Times Crossword Puzzle; she always used pencil but rarely needed the eraser. She had recently started doing the Wordle and finished it in three guesses just days before she died.

Barbara loved her family and the time they spent together, both in Bay Head, NJ, where she and her husband spent their summers for 50 years, and in Raleigh, NC. She regaled her family with hilarious tales over many delicious meals that she made. Barbara was an excellent cook and baker; her family will never forget her holiday pies and, try as they might, they cannot master her method for the homemade crusts.

Her family will miss her terribly–the way she’d occasionally break into song (“The Gambler,” “I’m Henry the VIIIth, I Am,” etc.), the way she’d correct their grammar, her stories, her love of animals, early mornings at the beach while she solved her puzzle, Sunday lunches, whole-family dinners at the Bay Head Yacht Club, her outrageous sneezes (26 in a row was her record), and her encouraging spirit. “Grandma Boo,” as she came to be known in her later years, both as a tribute to the nickname her devoted husband called her and as a way to simplify her name for her great grandsons, was a force to be reckoned with and she will be missed by many.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Transitions Lifecare at 250 Hospice Circle Raleigh, NC are appreciated.

Funeral services will take place at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date.

Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's Street Raleigh, NC.