Barbara Ann Simicevic

Barbara Ann (nee Mazur) Simicevic, 79, of Woodland Park passed away on Thursday, October 10, 2024.
Barbara was born and raised in Irvington until her family moved to Belleville when she was a teenager. She graduated from Essex County Vocational and Technical High School in 1964. Before she married, she enjoyed travels with friends to Bermuda and Hawaii. She met her husband, Sammy, in 1967, married in 1969 and raised five beautiful children in Clifton.
Barbara's smile and beautiful blue eyes would light up any room. She enjoyed laughing with others and she would sing or whistle when she was happy. She was a homemaker who loved shopping and decorating her family home for each holiday season. She made sure the children's homework was complete and school outfits were selected the day before. When the kids were off to school, she carefully planned her home activities, especially ironing while she watched Another World, Passions, and Days of Our Lives.
She paid attention to detail and kept her kids busy with arts and crafts, swim lessons, dance lessons and more. She was very close with her siblings and had many family gatherings over the years to celebrate birthdays, holidays, picnics, fireworks, trips to the circus and local carnivals and more.
On Valentine's Day, Sammy would always surprise his Boobie with the biggest chocolate filled heart and bring smaller one's for his three daughters.
In the spring, the kids colored eggs and the Easter Bunny filled their baskets well into adult years. She loved planting flowers, and her favorite were purple impatiens and pink begonias.
In the summer, Barbara was busy preparing lunch and packing the car five days a week to enjoy the summer days at Terrace Lake with her children, mom and sister, Mary Ann, her husband, John and their children, Johnny and Jennifer. Her brother, Frankie, invited her along with the kids often to go boating at Greenwood Lake where she would swim and waterski. On days when she did not go to the lake or boating, she took her children to his house to enjoy the pool. Other summer activities included family picnics with badminton and croquet by her brother, Jr, and wife, Nancy, house and their children, Brian and Amy along with many Independence Day celebrations.
In the fall, her children and their cousins would pumpkin pick and buy fresh-pressed apple cider at Tice's Farm and Van Riper's Farm, carve pumpkins and trick-or-treat together.
In the winter, Sammy and Barbara would pick a Christmas tree with he kids. Barbara would instruct Sammy to secure the tree in its stand and make sure the rotating Santa and sleigh was free from hitting any branches. She collected Christmas ornaments since she had her first job and paid attention to placement and the right amount of tinsel on each branch. She carefully placed her nativity set, village, figurines, and Santa train under the tree. She would take the kids to Christmas displays at Fountains of Wayne and Fairfield Gardens. She loved playing her Christmas albums on the record player and some of her favorite songs being Rocking Around the Christmas Tree and Marshmallow Word by Brenda Lee, Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! by Dean Martin and more. She watched Christmas cartoon specials with her children. Sam and Barbara took the kids sled riding at Nashville Park and enjoyed hot chocolate at the famous Hot Grill. She bundled the kids up to play in the snow to make snowmen and forts. She taught her kids how to ice skate at Main Memorial Park Pond.
She lived in Clifton for several years before moving to Woodland Park thirty-one years ago. She worked a few jobs as her children were adults and started to marry. Eventually, she began to watch her grandchildren when they were young which became one of her greatest joys. Barbara loved and celebrated her six grandchildren for all their events including family vacations to Wildwood Crest, Hershey Park, Disney, Bermuda, Italy, Croatia and others.
Barbara was predeceased by a loved and dearly missed son, Joseph Walter Simicevic, who predeceased her on April 12, 2000, as well as by her loving parents, Walter and Anna Mary (nee Solarczyk) Mazur and brother, Robert Mazur.
She is survived by her loving and devoted husband of fifty-five years, Sime (Sam) Simicevic, of Woodland Park; four loving children: David Simicevic (Joseph's twin brother) of Woodland Park, Ann Marie Pugliano of Woodland Park, Diane Marzano and her husband, Adam, of Succasunna and Christina Steiner and her husband, Scott, of Brick Twp.; three dear siblings: Walter Mazur, Jr. of Hackettstown, Frank Mazur of Nutley and Mary Ann Griffith of Wayne; and by her six cherished grandchildren: Kristen Marzano, Adam Marzano III, Paige Pugliano, Frank Pugliano and twins Kimberly Steiner and Kendall Steiner.
Funeral Services were held privately under the direction of Bizub-Quinlan Funeral Home, 1313 Van Houten Avenue, Clifton. Memorial contributions to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.org), 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 would be appreciated (Please request acknowledgement of your donation be sent to diane.marzano@sap.com), Please visit www.bizubquinlan.com to leave online condolences to Mrs. Simicevic's family on the Tribute Wall of her obituary page.
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