Barbara Jaffee Horner

Barbara Jaffee Horner
July 24,1937 - August 1, 2023
Westfield and Cape May, New Jersey
Barbara passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 in
Morristown Medical Center. She was 86 years young and the youngest of seven siblings.
Barbara was born on July 24,1937 to the late Leo and Catherine Jaffee at her family home in
Westfield. She was a lifelong resident of Westfield.
Barbara is survived by her beloved and devoted husband Arthur of 63 years and three
daughters Christy Thomas (Jim) of North Plainfield, Jennifer Fuchs (Dave) of Natick, MA, and
Melissa Riley (Paul) of Medford. She has 11 grandchildren: Summer Cipolla (Chris), Ryan,
Jamie, Courtney, Bridget, Hailey, Samantha, Kyle, Sean, Casey, and Keeley. She also has two
great grandchildren, Scarlet and Robert. She has many loving nieces and nephews. Barbara is
affectionately known as "Presh" to her siblings, nieces, and nephews, "Nanny" to her
grandchildren, and "GiGi" to her great grands.
Barbara attended McKinley Grade School, Roosevelt Jr. High, and graduated from Westfield
High School in 1955. She was very involved in her high school activities. She was an
enthusiastic Westfield football and baseball fan due to her "Arthuritis". She obtained her BA
degree from Bucknell University in 1959. Among her many honors, she was Second Vice
President of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, President of Kappa Delta Epsilon, a member of Pi
Sigma Alpha, and an admired student counselor for incoming freshman women. Barbara was
employed by the Westfield School District, where she taught ninth grade civics. After raising her
three daughters, she worked as a substitute teacher. Barbara was a member of the Westfield
Presbyterian Church for 59 years and active in her church circle. She was a member of the
Westfield Service League, volunteering her time at the thrift and consignment shops. Barbara
enjoyed 40+ years of aerobic dance, step aerobics, Jazzercise, and water aerobics. She was a
lifetime member of Weight Watchers. Barbara was the Social Chairperson at Highland Swim
Club. She was a winner of the Highland Swim Club Thousand Lap Club for several summers
and a dedicated supporter of her children through years of swimming at Highland, Westfield
YMCA, and college. She loved to work as a timer at their swim meets and enjoyed hosting
pasta parties for the entire swim team. She was an avid fan of the Yankees and of many NBA
Basketball teams, most recently the Celtics. Barbara was super musically inclined, she played
the piano and loved any song from the 50's. Abba, Billy Joel, and Beyonce were among her
more recent favorites. She had an amazing talent to be able to sing all the lyrics to any song.
Special memories were made on family trips to see a variety of New York City Broadway shows,
The Museum of Natural History, Skytop, Pennsylvania and Disney World, Florida.
Barbara's love of the sun and the beach brought her many memorable family moments. She
looked forward to spending the summers in Cape May with her family and took immense pride
in singing, dancing, playing her dinner table games, eating ice cream, and laughing late into the
night with her grandchildren. She enjoyed personal conversations to get to know every detail
about each grandchild's activities.
Barbara was predeceased by her brothers James A. "Bud" Jaffee, Theodore R."Ted" Jaffee,
and her four sisters Marjorie "Midge" Oravetz, Dorothy "Dot" Ochiltree, Marilyn "Bubs" Jones,
and June Mastrian.
The visitation will be held on Thursday, August 10 from 3-5pm at Memorial Funeral Home, 155
South Ave, Fanwood, NJ. The Funeral Service will be on Friday, August 11 at 11:00 at the
Westfield Presbyterian Church. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made in her name to the Westfield Presbyterian Church, NJ
or any charity of your choice.