Barbara J. Ripa

1933 - 2021

SWOYERSVILLE — Barbara J. Ripa, 87, a resident of Swoyersville, passed into eternal life on Friday morning, Jan. 22, 2021, at the Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility of the Wesley Village Campus, Jenkins Township, where she was a guest since November.

Her beloved husband was the late Raymond A. Ripa, who passed away on Feb. 28, 2016. Together, Ray and Barbara shared 59 beautiful years of marriage.

Born on Oct. 31, 1933, in Wilkes-Barre, Barbara was one of ten children born to the late Edward and Anna (Shalata) Puchalsky.

Raised in Swoyersville, Barbara was a graduate of the former Swoyersville High School, Class of 1951.

Prior to her retirement, Barbara was employed as a telephone operator for Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, later Verizon, Wilkes-Barre. She was well loved and respected by all her colleagues, and she was a longtime member of the Bell Telephone Pioneers, a charity organization associated with Verizon.

A faithful Catholic, Barbara was a lifelong member of the former Saint Mary of Czestochowa Church, Swoyersville. Following the consolidation of her church, she became a member of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Swoyersville.

Barbara devoted her entire life to her family. She was known for her thoughtfulness and the best way to describe this is by her sending cards for every occasion. She sent so many cards throughout her life that her family often joked that her middle name should have been "Hallmark." She was renowned for her Slovak, Polish and Italian meals, and her family will miss the famous dishes that she prepared for holidays and family celebrations. It was little things that Barbara did that made each and every one of her loved ones feel special, and they will all remember her as being the definition of an angel on Earth.

In addition to her parents, Edward and Anna Puchalsky, and her husband, Raymond, Barbara was preceded in death by her brothers, William, John and Thomas Puchalsky; and her sisters, Anna Yonkondy, Marcella Gowisnock and Elizabeth Vanyo.

Barbara is survived by her seven children, Janet Ripa, of Kingston; Lorraine Baer, of Harrisburg; Michael Ripa and his wife, Elizabeth, of Leesburg, Va.; Mitchell Ripa and his wife, Irene, of Solon, Ohio; Jacqueline Ripa-Weimmer, of Howell, N.J.; Judy Orebaugh, of Richmond, Va.; and Raymond Ripa Jr., of Wilkes-Barre; her precious grandchildren, Matt Baer (Beka), Ryan Baer, and Jessica Baer (Pat); Adam, Garrett and Jordan Ripa; Kristen Weimmer; and Lindsay and Natalie Orebaugh; her great-grandchildren, Rylan Baer, Loukas Ripa, and Grayson Baer; her sisters, Thelma Evanko, of Morganton, N.C.; and Lorraine Bebey, of Levittown; her brother, Lawrence Puchalsky, of Hartford, Conn.; as well as generations of nieces and nephews.

A private Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Monday in Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, 116 Hughes St., Swoyersville. The Rev. Joseph J. Pisaneschi, her Pastor, was the celebrant. A recording of Barbara's Funeral Mass can be found on the Facebook page of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Swoyersville.

Private Interment with the Rite of Committal followed in Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Swoyersville.

Funeral Arrangements were entrusted to the care of the Wroblewski Funeral Home Inc., 1442 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort.

For additional information or to send the Ripa Family an online message of condolence, you may visit the funeral home website, www.wroblewskifuneralhome.com, or Facebook page.