Barbara Bellafiore

Barbara was born in Staten Island, N.Y., to Joseph and Dorothea Bellafiore. As a child, one of her first jobs was helping her father by bringing (by bike and ferry) the original manuscripts of his English Language Arts textbooks to the AMSCO office in Manhattan for publication.

After completing a year of college at Fairfield University, Barbara did a two-year exchange program at the University of Oxford. She completed her undergraduate studies in English Literature at University of New York at Buffalo, where she received the George Houpt award for writing. She earned a master’s degree in Communications Policy at McGill University in Montreal, where she also directed an award-winning production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.

In 1980, Barbara moved back to New York City. She began her professional career at HBO, negotiating with cable providers around the country during the company’s rapid growth, and working with colleagues who would become lifelong friends. Over the following decades, she would work at Showtime, Viacom, the Monitor Channel, Prodigy, and Dun & Bradstreet, while also growing her own consulting business. Barbara was known for spotting trends and technologies before they entered the mainstream. In the 1990s, she and her team contributed to the early days of consumer internet browsing, introducing the first online presence for dozens of major television networks, including ESPN and CBS.

Barbara married Edward Sanden (d. 2020) of Edmonton, Alberta, and had daughter Katherine and son Clifford. She was devoted to her family, both immediate and extended, and hosted numerous family reunions. To her children, she was a champion and inspiration, nurturing their love of music, language, and learning.

Barbara was an active volunteer in her many spheres of life: her church and sailing communities, the town of Greenwich, the League of Women Voters, and others. She served for five years on the board of directors of Adventure Unlimited Ranches in Buena Vista, Colorado, and taught Sunday school in her local church.

Always a New Yorker at heart, Barbara enjoyed theater and performing arts, and was her friends’ go-to for city recommendations and happenings. A lifelong learner, Barbara picked up sailing, kayaking, bridge, ballroom dancing, and most recently, elementary computer programming. For years, she kayaked the coastline with her friends at 6 a.m., competed in sailing races, and served on the Race Committee at Riverside Yacht Club.

Barbara is preceded in death by her father, Joseph Bellafiore. She is survived by her mother, Dorothea Bellafiore, Greenwich, CT; daughter Katherine Sanden, Boulder, CO; son Clifford Sanden, Dallas, TX; brother Vincent (Gale) Bellafiore, Staten Island, NY; sister Margaret Bellafiore, North Weymouth, MA; brother Louis (Cate) Bellafiore, Maui, HI; sister Mary Ewert, St. Petersburg, FL; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews in California, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, and Hawaii.

A celebration of Barbara’s life will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at Riverside Yacht Club, 102 Club Road, in Riverside. Please wear bright colors and be ready to share your favorite memory of Barbara.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Adventure Unlimited Ranches at adventureunlimited.org.