Barbara "Bobbie" Constable

Obituary of Barbara Constable Barbara "Bobbie" Constable (nee Sloan) of Montclair, NJ and Cazenovia, NY, died on August 29, 2025. She was 94. Born in Hartford, CT, Bobbie moved 12 times during her childhood and teen years as her father pursued career opportunities in the insurance industry. She graduated from Summit (NJ) High School and earned an Associate's Degree in Merchandising from Endicott Junior College in Beverly, MA where she served on the Trustees Advisory Board. After college she returned to Summit and worked as a buyer for Hahne's department store in Newark, NJ. One evening, her father invited a co-worker home for dinner, a young man name Robert Constable. "My father thought he needed a square meal," Bobbie recalled in a recent interview, "and my mother thought he should meet her daughter." Despite some initial resistance to the idea of parental matchmaking, the young couple married in 1956. The Constables moved to Harrisburg, PA where Bobbie worked for the telephone company and developed a sales and management training program for a local department store. Later they lived in York, PA where she was elected Republican Committeewoman and was active in the Junior League. In 1963 they moved to Montclair, NJ. Shortly after arriving in Montclair, Bobbie spearheaded a fundraising campaign to build a township sponsored hockey rink, which is still operational today. She organized fairs and dinners for the Cub Scouts, led fundraising drives for the Watchung School PTA, and served as President of the Boy Scouts Mothers. She also started a successful business selling beeswax candles, which she distributed to several of the local stores in Montclair. In 1978 Bobbie became a manufacture's sales representative for Doncaster clothing, and for over 30 years she ranked as one of the companies top individual salespersons in the United States. In recent years she served on the boards of the American Red Cross and the Yard School of Art, and on the Executive Board of the New Jersey Music Society. While living in New York State, Bobbie was an active supporter of the Wild Center in Tupper Lake, the Cazenovia Library and received the Community Service Award from the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation. Yet for all her enterprises and accomplishments, Bobbie is best remembered for her consistent devotion to family and friends, acquaintances, and neighbors. "What Bobbie did best," said her husband Bob, "was to be constantly aware of and thinking of other people. She loved nothing more than to make someone happy." In addition to her husband, Bobbie is survived by two sons, Jeffrey (wife Karen) of Mahwah, NJ and Peter (wife Lara) of Seattle, WA, daughter in-law Tina Constable, six grandchildren – Allison (husband Michael), Brooke (husband Daniel), Duncan (wife Christi), Spencer, Tyler, and Charles and four great- grandchildren – Holden, Owen, Sloan, and Frankie. Preceded in death are sons Robert in 2019 and Andrew in 2020. A celebration of life will be held from 1 to 3 p.m., Sunday, October 19, 2025 at the Hampton Inn, 25 Lakers Lane in Cazenovia. Contributions in memory of Bobbie can be made to an organization of your choice or to the Cazenovia Public Library, 100 Albany St., Cazenovia, NY 13035. Condolences for the Constable family may be left at www.michaelebrownfuneralservices.com.