Barbara A. Budnicki

1931 - 2019

Barbara A. Budnicki

Edison - BARBARA A. BUDNICKI, 88, of EDISON, died Wednesday, Oct. 23, at Hackensack Meridian Health JFK Medical Center in Edison, NJ following a brief illness. A celebration of life luncheon will be held at The Pines Manor on Friday, Nov. 15th, from noon to 2:00PM at 2085 Rte. 27, Edison, NJ 08817.

Born in 1931 in Palo Alto, CA, Barbara grew up in Asbury Park, NJ and graduated from Asbury Park High School in 1949. Soon after graduation, she married Robert W. Turner, Jr. and, in 1951, gave birth to her only child, a son, Colonel Michael R. Turner, USAF (Ret) who survives her. Shortly after marrying, the couple bought a home on Opdyke Ave. in Wanamassa, NJ. They divorced in 1952, but Ms. Budnicki remained in the Wanamassa home until 1967 when she married Dr. Xavier B. Budnicki of Perth Amboy, NJ. The new couple bought a home in Edison, NJ where she lived until her death.

For her entire life, Barbara epitomized the finest qualities of strong and empowered women. A single mother in 1952, she worked briefly as a telephone switchboard operator before being hired as an administrative assistant (then "secretary") at Crowell Designs, Pt. Pleasant, NJ.

Barbara worked for Crowell for more than 10 years but resigned in protest when a new, male assistant was hired at a significantly higher salary for the same work. In response to her request for equal pay, Barbara, a single mother, was told the assistant was a man and had a family to care for.

Ever confident in her resilience and ability to succeed, Barbara soon established herself as a top notch professional, eventually becoming a corporate sales manager for Pomerantz Staffing Service, LLC, later CoWorx Staffing Services, where she was selected as Employee of the Year just before her retirement. In her seventies, she became a real estate agent for Century 21 Apex in Metuchen, NJ.

In 1975, she earned an Associate of Arts Degree from Middlesex County College where she received the Frank M. Chambers Award for Academic Achievement. In 1977, at the age of 45, Barbara received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Rutgers University (Douglass College) and was elected to Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society.

Barbara was loved and will be deeply missed by her family and so many friends, including her book club, her high school classmates, her bridge club, her fellow volunteers in the gift shop at JFK, and the Saturday night Chile's crew. Barbara is predeceased by her mother, Mildred E. Boyson, her father, Carl V. Boyson and her brother, Robert Charles Boyson. She is survived by her son, Col Michael R. Turner, USAF (Ret), her stepchildren, Candace Hanna, Stephen Budnicki, Michael Budnicki, and Patty Budnicki, her grandchildren, Tracy Turner, Morgan Ganley, Andrew Hanna, Veronica Hanna, a great granddaughter, Kelisia Hanna, her sister-in-law, Louise Pruyne, her niece, Christina Boyson, her niece, Susan Hassen and husband, Ken Hassen, and their children, Caryn Hassen and Kenny Hassen.