Constanta Barbu

Constanta Barbu, 91, of Livingston, died on September 28, 2023.
Relatives and friends are invited for visitation on Wednesday from 6-8 pm in the Shook-Farmer Funeral Home, 45 Roseland Avenue, Roseland, NJ 07068, shookfarmer.com. A Funeral Service will begin at 7:00 pm in the funeral home. The conclusion of the orthodox funeral rite will take place at Curtea de Arges, in Romania.
Meme as fondly called by her grandkids and great granddaughter Isabella, lived most of her life in Romania and settled in 1990 in Livingston,with her daughter and her family. Prior to her retirement, she was a pharmacist in Curtea de Arges for more than 30 years. She was highly respected in her field and by the people of this historical, quaint town situated at the bottom of the Carpatian Mountains. For many years she was in charge of the town pharmacy and several satellite offices in the region, practicing her profession and serving people with love and dedication. She is remembered dearly by her colleagues and many people she helped during her career. In her spare time, she was an avid reader, enjoyed culture and music. She was very knowledgeable and always eager to have intellectual conversations, discussing various topics and delighting people with her charm and wit. Tanti(pronounced Tantzi), as named by relatives and friends was dedicated to her family. After she became a widow, at age 51,in spite of the sorrow caused by the premature loss of her beloved husband, Gicu, an appreciated physician, and the difficulties to obtain resources,she continued tenaciously to support her children through college. Her devotion extended to her grand-children born in United States where she moved to help with their upbringing. It was important for her to teach them the Romanian language and expose them to the culture during the summer vacation on their several visits to Romania. A truthful Christian all her life and a founding member of the Life Giving Fountain Romanian Orthodox Church in Long Valley, an ethnic, traditional, Romanian wooden church, she was very proud of her heritage, and appreciated that she was able to express herself freely in a democratic country after living most of her life under a communist dictatorship. Determined to understand the American culture,in her early sixties she attended classes of English as second language and enjoyed very much being again a student. Affectionately known as Meme after becaming a grandmother, she loved to entertain and bake for family and friends, especially specialty Romanian cakes, delicious, sophisticated torturi and cremsnit. Her love for people and life itself was reflected in her acts of kindness, support and encouragement. She was hardworking, had high moral standards and family values which helped her throughout her life. She made an effort to pass all that to her children and grandchildren. Her unconditional love for the family created over the years a strong sentimental bridge that spanned from the family in Romanian to those of us living in the United States, keeping us very close and unified. In spite of a cruel illness that impacted seriously her health for many years, she has never lost the meaning of life. After the birth of her first great grandchild, Isabella, when Meme was 89 and becoming more disabled, she was asked what was her reason for continuing on living. Her answer,typical of her proverbial wisdom, was I want to see Isabella grow.
She will be dearly missed but Meme will always be with us, in our hearts.
Pre-deceased by her husband, Gheorghe Barbu.
She is survived by her beloved children, Daniela Weinberger and Calin Barbu; cherished grandchildren, Nadine and Andrew Weinberger; loving great-grandchildren, Isabella, Michael, and Leo; dear sister, Kati.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Life Giving Fountain Romanian Orthodox Church, 132 Califon Road, Long Valley, NJ 07853.
A parastas will take place after the liturgy, on Sunday, October 8th at the Life Giving Fountain Church in Long Valley.
From Daniela and Calin, a promise to you,our beloved Mami
Oda mamei de Liliana Craciun
Mama este începutul tuturor începuturilor. Izvor de dragoste, blânde?e si caldura. Fara mama nu se poate trai. Fara mama nu se poate iubi. Mama este icoana sufletelor noastre a carei lumina ne vegheaza si ne calauze?te in fapte bune. Fiecare cuta pe obrazul mamei este o poveste din via?a copiilor ei. Nu suntem niciodata pregati?i sa pierdem pe cineva, si mai ales pe cine ne-a dat via?a. Sa ne amintim de mama in clipele frumoase, sa-i sarbatorim via?a, ne-a lasat dragoste si zimbete si amintiri care niciodata nu le vom pierde. Te vom onora prin a fi la fel de buni ca tine. Amin!