Barbara Joanne Varrick

1938 - 2021

Barbara Joanne Karvoski Varrick, 83, precious wife of Charles Edward Varrick Jr., joined her infant daughter Ruth to become one of God's guardian angels in heaven on Sept. 16, 2021, after coping valiantly for many years with several illnesses. Barbara was born in New Britain on May 3, 1938. Barbara lived a full life always surrounded by family and friends.

Younger sister to twin brothers, Barbara played touch football, basketball, and baseball with the neighborhood kids and enjoyed Fresh Air Camp in Burlington. She loved Polish music, dancing and cuisine, especially baking her prized lasagna. She had an artistic talent for music and art, and her paintings are cherished by her family. Growing up in the post-Depression era, Barbara worked for Raphael's Department Store as a wedding gown model and at the family store, Richard's Variety. In 1955, Barbara graduated early from Mary Immaculate Academy in New Britain where she excelled in academics.

It was at the Polish National Home in downtown Hartford where Charley and Barbara first met amidst the polka music and happy clamor of the club's hall. As a member of the New Britain-based youth organization, the Polish Falcons Nest 88, Barbara was able to sharpen her natural skills as a dancer and athlete (earning countless awards) and Charley took immediate notice. It was the start of something extraordinarily beautiful between the two. They met often at the club to dance polka and enjoy one another's company.

Barbara and Charley were married at Holy Cross Church in New Britain. They began their life together in Manchester, then East Hartford before settling in South Windsor, where they spent most of their 61 happily married years raising three daughters.

Barbara had the gift of tenacity and raised her family with strength, kindness, creativity, and virtue. She was one of the few mothers at the time raising her three girls during the turbulent '60s and '70s while holding supervisory and other positions in several large corporations, including MetLife, where she was sent to several field locations to assist with fraud investigations. In addition, she held positions at CBT, Fleet Bank, Bank of America, Kaiser Permanente, and as marketing director at Industronics of South Windsor. While in a research position at Gentiva Health Systems, she assisted in a discovery study on Lycopene and its impact on cancers.

Barbara was community-minded and was an 18-year participant in South Windsor's Democratic Town Committee, served as secretary of the Planning and Zoning Commission, and was a founding member of Citizens for Better Education. One of her most public accomplishments was as a town of South Windsor correspondent and reporter for the Manchester Evening Herald. In addition to her informative coverage of her town, she wrote several articles published by the Associated Press that now live forever in cyberspace.

In retirement, she traveled to Maryland to visit family and for golf tournaments, enjoyed family vacations in Maine, Cape Cod, Old Lyme, and Florida, and enjoyed watching the UConn women's and men's basketball teams win championships. She frequently watched the Boston Red Sox on TV, as she had attended games at Fenway in her youth with her family. She especially loved the time she spent with her grandchildren, supporting their academic and athletic accomplishments, while teaching them about enjoying the little things in life. Barbara always enjoyed a good book and often had one tucked into her bag.

A devout member of the Roman Catholic Church, Barbara was a communicant of St. Margaret Mary Church, and her angelic voice was heard as a member of choirs in all the towns she resided in. Barbara had a genuine love for others and listened to the concerns of all who confided in her. Without fail and no matter how tired or ill she was, she prayed nightly to St. Jude to ask for help for relatives and friends along their life's journey.

Barbara was predeceased by her infant daughter, Ruth Varrick; her parents, Victoria (Tutak) and Charles A. Karvoski Sr.; her brother, Charles A. Karvoski Jr.; and her in-laws, Mary (Daley) and Charles Varrick Sr. In addition to her beloved husband, Charley, Barbara leaves behind her brother Stephen Karvoski and his wife Jane; brother-in-law Robert Varrick and his wife Janet; sister-in-law Mary Gallant; cousin and confidant, Mary Ann Gauthier; her daughters Sharon Kinney and her husband, Scott; Jill Fletcher and her husband, Richard; and Lois Shrivastava and her husband, Vinod; her grandchildren Stefan Shrivastava, Alexander Kinney, and Ashley Kinney; a large extended family, including godchildren, nieces, nephews, and many friends who will miss her wisdom, her laughter, and their many heartfelt conversations.

Calling hours will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home, 419 Buckland Road, South Windsor. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, at 10 a.m. at St. Margaret Mary Church, 80 Hayes Road in South Windsor. Burial will follow in Wapping Cemetery, South Windsor.

Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home in South Windsor has care of the arrangements. To leave an online condolence, please visit

www.carmonfuneralhome.com