Barbara Ann Blackwood

1951 - 10

1951-2024

Barbara Ann Blackwood, beloved wife, mother, sister and friend, passed peacefully at home in Baltimore, MD, surrounded by family on Friday, April 26, 2024 after a yearlong fight with cancer.
Barbara was born on October 9. 1951, the eldest of seven children, to Dr. Thomas Blackwood and Genevieve Blackwood in Potomac, MD. She was a graduate of Stone Ridge School '69, Hollins College '73, (with a semester exchange at Davidson College), and then began a short career in retail at Garfinckel's. She was a volunteer at a small local theatre company in DC where she met her future husband, Michael Jonnes. They were married in 1976, and moved to Boston, where in 1978 Bobbie entered the BU Theatre School to study costume design. Following graduation, the couple moved to Brooklyn, NY, and then back to Washington DC, where in 1989 their daughter Gwyneth was born. Orchestra jobs moved the family to Jackson, TN, Springfield, MA, Hagerstown, MD and, upon the retirement of husband Michael in 2017, settled in Baltimore, MD.
Barbara, known affectionately as Bobbie, had a long career as a theatrical costume designer/costumer/stitcher. She received her MFA in Costume Design from Boston University in 1981; she subsequently worked at the leading NYC costume construction shop, Barbara Matera's, and then the Terilynn Costume shop. Throughout a six year stay in New York City, Bobbie designed a number of productions Off-Off Broadway, Off-Broadway, opera (92nd Street Y), and 15+ summer productions through the Westport Playhouse in the mid-1980's. In the various cities in which she lived, Bobbie always found plenty of design and costuming work. One highlight included working with children's book writer/illustrator Eric Carle who designed the costumes and set pieces for a semi-staged production of Mozart's The Magic Flute with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MA). Bobbie constructed and fitted all the costumes painted in Mr. Carle's traditional palette. Bobbie also designed and constructed costumes and props for semi-stage productions of Aida and Carmen. She worked with the Mt. Holyoke Summer Theatre, the Tufts University Summer Theatre, the Majestic Theatre in W. Springfield, the New Century Theatre in Northampton, MA, the Towson University Theatre School Costume shop, the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in Shepherdstown, WV, the Hartt School of the Arts at U of Hartford among others. In addition to her theatrical career, she worked with Stark Carpets in Washington, DC as a painter of carpet maquettes, an unusual and highly detailed skill set. Barbara was also a 50 year collector of vintage clothing and accessories, and, in partnership with her daughter Gwyneth, ran Macaroni Vintage on Etsy.
She was a superb equestrian in her youth, a 'voracious' reader -- among her favorite places wherever she lived were the local library systems, and, later in life a great traveler. In Baltimore, she was a volunteer at the Govan's branch of the city-wide Enoch Pratt Library System.
Bobbie is survived by her husband of 47 years, Michael Jonnes; her daughter Gwyneth and partner Jason Isolda; her six siblings, Susan Zemel (Andy Glick), Tom, Kathy Blackwood (Bill Cowper), David, Didi and Michael (Heidi); sister-in-law Jill Jonnes (Chris Ross), brother-in-law Denis Jonnes (Maria), and dozens of nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held on June 1 at the Govans Library.
Donations can be made to The Friends of Govans Library, 5714 Bellona Ave., Baltimore, MD 21212.