Barbara-Ann Kruszewski

Rutland Town. BARBARA-ANN KRUSZEWSKI JAN. 27, 1935 - JAN. 12, 2025:
Barbara-Ann Kruszewski was born at the Brooklyn Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. on January 27, 1935, to Elizabeth V. and Herman H. Held. She moved to Vermont with her family at the age of 23. She was promptly touted as a beauty in the area and was a runner-up in a Winter Carnival Queen contest sponsored by the Kiwanis Club. She met her soon-to- be husband, Joseph I. Kruszewski of West Rutland and it was love at first sight. They married at St. Stanislaus Church in West Rutland on August 8, 1959. They lived in various residences in the Rutland area, until designing and building their forever home in 1974, where they still resided with two of their children, Judith S. Kruszewski and Timothy A. Kruszewski. A third child, Brian J. Kruszewski resides in the Shrewsbury area.
Barbara-Ann lived an exciting life. While in high school, she was a "Lady in White" majorette, leading the band across the field or down the street during sporting events or in a parade. She still had one of her batons sitting by the front door, for "protection". She tried out for the Roxiettes, the understudy group for the famous "Radio City Rockettes", but took a job for a government facility in Manhattan as a secretary instead. When she moved to Vermont, she worked at Howe Scale and flew a "Piper Cub" in the Civil Air Patrol. After raising her children she returned to work at Sears Catalog Store in the Rutland Plaza as a salesperson and ran a teletype machine for 17 years. She also worked with several charity organizations and taught at a Sunday School.
Since retirement, she and her husband had a small town business called "Kruzer Krafts", building picnic tables, swings, gliders, sheds and gazebos for many homes and businesses in the Rutland area and beyond. Married for 65 years, they lived happily in their home for more than 50 years. Barbara-Ann passed away suddenly in her home only 15 days before turning 90 years old. She was surrounded by her immediate family. She leaves behind a family who she loved greatly and they will love her and miss her more every single day.
In lieu of a funeral or wake, the family has chosen to have a Celebration of Life event at a date yet to be determined. It will be at their home, among their family and friends and the rest of Barbara-Ann's favorite beings, the animals.
Arrangements are under the direction of Clifford Funeral Home.