Obituary

Barbara S. Anderson, 89

Madison and Branford

After moving in May from the Hearth, an assisted living facility in Branford, Barbara S. Anderson (née Stover) was ready to go home. She passed away on July 5 at Care One in Livingston, New Jersey.

She was predeceased by her husband, Roy R. Anderson; her parents, Franklin F. and Mabel P. Stover; her sister Phyllis S. Ivers; and her sisters and brothers-in-law Joan S. and Robert Pitkin and Helen S. and Ronald Whiting.

She is survived by her children Bruce L. Gardiner and his, wife Melinda, of Hillsdale, New York; Louise G. Dietz and her husband, James, of New Providence, New Jersey; and Steven S. Gardiner and his wife, Nancy, of Trumbull. Also, she is survived by eight grandchildren, David, Anna, Christian, and Benjamin; Melanie and Michael; and Casey and Jill; as well as 14 great-grandchildren.

Barbara was born Feb. 27, 1925 in Glen Ridge and grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She was a graduate of Ridgewood High School and Elmira College. After raising her own children, she began volunteering in Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey. That sparked an interest in nursing that led her to become an LPN. She practiced nursing in several different hospitals as she moved from New Jersey to Connecticut to lllinois, and back to Connecticut. She finished her nursing career working for the Visiting Nurses Association in Madison.

She and her husband, Roy, were avid bridge players. They loved the company of one golden retriever/Irish setter mix and several English springer spaniels in their family over the years. They even experienced a new litter of pups on two occasions. Barbara also enjoyed playing cribbage, gardening, and entertaining. She enjoyed her friends and the activities at the Winter Club in Madison. She was very active in her church, the Congregational Church of Madison, at which her ashes will be interred next to her husband's at a later date.

A funeral will be held at the Presbyterian Church at New Providence in New Providence, New Jersey, at 4 p.m. on July 25. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Alzheimers Association at 400 Morris Ave., Suite 251, Denville, NJ 07834.