Barbara Ann Keane, devoted wife, mother and grandmother, died on January 2, 2026 after a long illness. Born in The Bronx to Irish immigrant parents, Barbara was the youngest of four siblings. She met her future husband of nearly 60 years, Timothy “Ted” Keane, while they were teenagers growing up in the Highbridge section of The Bronx.
At Cathedral High School in Manhattan, she excelled at art and won a podium finish in a NYC-wide school art competition. She and her husband Ted married in 1966 and they raised three children – Tim Jr, MaryAnn and Michael.
Barbara earned a degree in nursing and worked as floor nurse, often doing night shifts, before being promoted to become an administrator at leading Bronx hospitals like North Central, St. Barnabas and Lincoln. Throughout her career, her empathy for the ill and the less fortunate informed her decision-making as an executive responsible for utilizing health care resources. An avid reader who was intellectually curious, she went on to earn a graduate degree.
Barbara and Ted moved to Pelham 25 years ago where they were dedicated grandparents to Anna and Aidan Walkin and Saniyah and Edgar Keane. Barbara channeled her artistic talents into hobbies like interior decorating, gardening, baking and knitwork. She and Ted enjoyed traveling, especially to Europe and the Caribbean. They shared a deep lifelong love of music and culture and maintained an active social circle of extended family and friends, many from their Highbridge roots. For the last three decades, they enjoyed quality time at their country home in the upper Hudson Valley, exploring upstate New York and eastern Massachusetts.
Barbara is survived by her husband Ted and her three children and four grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her name to the Alzheimer’s Association or Doctors Without Borders.
A celebration of Barbara's life will be held on Friday January 9, 2026, between the hours of 4:00 pm and 8:00 p.m. at the Pelham Funeral Home, 64 Lincoln Avenue, Pelham, NY 10803. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Saturday January 10, 2026 , at 9:30 a.m. at Holy Family Church,83 Clove Rd, New Rochelle, NY 10801. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Please consider a donation as requested by the family.

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