It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Barbara Feit Nappen of Oakhurst, NJ. After an eight-month battle against melanoma, Barbara died on June 28, 2019, just shy of her 80th birthday.
Barbara was a graduate of Atlantic City High School and, mid-life, earned a BA in Liberal Arts from Monmouth University.
Barbara possessed a life-long passion for learning and travel. She was a voracious reader of historical fiction and biographies. She regularly vacationed in New England and along the Florida Coast. She enjoyed cruises, museums, and site-seeing throughout the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and other places.
For several years in the 1970s, Barbara served as PTA President for the Township of Ocean School District. She was also employed as a part-time substitute teacher in Ocean Township and summer school Art Teacher in Neptune Township.
Throughout her life, Barbara mastered various artistic pursuits, including ceramics, pottery, basketry, culinary arts, and photography (for which she garnered several honors and awards). For a number of years she owned a store in Eatontown, NJ, specializing in knitting machines. In her later years, she became an accomplished quilter.
At a time when it was rare to see women involved in firearm sports, Barbara became a proficient trap-and-skeet shooter and vocal activist for 2nd Amendment rights.
She is survived by: her husband, former Monmouth University Political Science Professor Enoch Nappen (with whom she celebrated 60 years of marriage); her sister Sandra Feit Goldfarb; three children, Evan Nappen, Hillary Horn (née Nappen), and Louis Nappen; and three grandchildren, Ethan Nappen, Nathaniel "Teddy" Nappen, and Abigail Nappen. A great-grandchild is expected this October.
An organized celebration of Barbara's life may be scheduled for a later date.