Barbara Riemer

Barbara Heather Lovett(e) was born on September 22, 1929 in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn. She was the daughter of Boris (Bob) Lovett and May (Gerber) Lovett who both came from current day Latvia and arrived in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Boris was a traveling salesman and May was a homemaker. Barbara proudly spoke with a rich Brooklyn accent her entire life. She was lovingly called Bawbruh by many who knew her.

Barbara added the “e” to her last name Lovett in junior high, because her older sister Lucille thought it was more glamorous that way. She graduated from New Utrecht High School in 1946 (at 16). In her Yearbook, the editors wrote of Barbara, “three cheers for Miss Lovette; if charm were gold, (there’d be) no national debt.” The “Saints and Sinners” section had this to say about Barbara, “Answers to Bobby. Should be Irish. Disposition ‘Slip-happy’ (giggly). Worst crime - sports. Weakness - tall men.”

She enrolled at Brooklyn College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950, where she majored in Economics and minored in French. She was a brown-haired beauty and always stylish. You’d never catch Barbara without her hair, makeup and nails done with precision. Barbara joined Abraham and Straus part-time in her teens and full-time after college as an assistant buyer in the ladies intimates departments.

Barbara met Burton Riemer (a tall man) in Canada while visiting her then boyfriend. They met in September of 1953 and got engaged six weeks later. She married Burton in 1954 on the first day of spring. He thought it would be romantic. And it was. It snowed!

Barbara’s focus was on raising her family. She and Burton settled in Brooklyn and Nancy Ellen was born in May of 1956. Barbara’s beloved Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1957 and so did she. The family moved to Hillsdale, New Jersey and had a son, David Andrew (March of 1958) and another daughter, Melissa Wendy (June of 1964). Barbara's family would eventually expand to include six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Burton, an aircraft engineer, moved the family to Massachusetts to take a job at the General Electric Jet Engine Division in Lynn, MA in 1967 and the family settled in Marblehead where she lived until 2004. Burt was an avid gardener and that meant Barbara spent a good part of her life cleaning, jarring, cooking and freezing a cornucopia of (too many!) vegetables. She was a member of the Hadassah organization and the sisterhood of her Temple Emanu-El, where she co-edited a popular community cookbook called, “Some More Of Our Best.”

Barbara visited five continents with husband Burton, to places as far-flung as Australia, Japan, China, Turkey, Kenya and throughout Europe. They often traveled with Barbara’s beloved brother-in-law Marvin Riemer. Barbara’s travels included an epic cross-country family trip in the late 1960’s, which gave her children some of their fondest childhood memories.

Burton and Barbara bought a home in Boynton Beach, Florida in 1992. Barbara spent her winters there until 2015. Shortly after Burton passed away in 2004, Barbara moved her Massachusetts home to Salem. For the past 8 years she has lived at Orchard Cove in Canton, where she was the leader of the library volunteers.

Barbara loved to play bridge and Mahjong and never met a crossword puzzle she couldn’t crush. She was a practitioner of needlepoint, flower arranging, tennis and golf. She loved to read and watch movies.

Barbara’s greatest passion was her family. She was proud of her children, their spouses, her grandchildren and their partners and her two great-grandchildren. Her grandchildren loved her back. They named her “Party Nana,” because she was always the life of any party she attended. She’d arrive at a gathering of family and friends, sit down and hold court.

Barbara is predeceased by husband Burton Riemer and sister Lucille Nalven. She leaves behind daughter Nancy Kellner and son-in-law Charles Kellner, daughter Melissa Bunis and son-in-law Paul Bunis, and son, David Riemer and daughter-in-law Carla Riemer; six grandchildren and their partners, including Alex Kellner (Allie Woods) and Emily Kellner (Ava Blustein), Jesse Riemer (Caprice Hong) and Taryn Riemer (Jessie Serrino) and Jillian Bunis and Sam Bunis and two great-granddaughters Hattie Woods-Kellner and Zoe Woods-Kellner. Barbara also leaves behind many friends, including her best friend, Do Younger.

Services will be on Monday, April 17th at 1:30 PM at Stanetsky Memorial Chapel, 475 Washington Street, Canton, MA. Services will be livestreamed at www.tinyurl.com/BarbaraRiemer. Burial will be private. Shiva will be observed Monday immediately following services and Wednesday, April 19th from 4-6 and 7-9 PM at the home of Melissa and Paul Bunis. Shiva will be observed Tuesday, April 18th from 4-7 PM at the home of Nancy and Charlie Kellner. Contributions in her memory can be made to Hebrew SeniorLife Hospice at hebrewseniorlife.org.