Cynthia Ann Barry

Cynthia (Cindy) Ann Barry, 90, passed away from cancer at her home in Alexandria, VA on Monday, June 23.

Cindy was born in Roxbury, MA on August 18, 1934, and grew up in New Bedford, MA. She graduated from New Bedford Vocational High School (1952) and from New Bedford Technological Institute. Upon completing her education, she took her interest in sewing and fashion to New York City, where she worked briefly in the garment industry before returning to New Bedford and resuming working at Ray and Joe's Cafe in downtown New Bedford.

One day while working at the cafe, a former classmate came in and mentioned to Cindy that the airline industry was hiring stewardesses. Intrigued, Cindy looked into this opportunity, and in 1958, she became a stewardess for Eastern Airlines.

Cindy moved back to New York City, where she was based for her entire 10-year career with Eastern. Her favorite routes to fly included New York to Boston and New York to San Juan. Working for the airline gave Cindy many personal travel opportunities, and she included Rome and Hong Kong as some of her favorite vacation destinations during her time with Eastern.

In 1967 she married James (Jim) Barry of Brooklyn, NY. In 1968 the couple welcomed daughter Jill, and the family resided in Flushing, NY.

Jim's work with the federal government took the family to East Windsor, NJ; to Piscataway, NJ; and in 1978 to Springfield, VA. During these years, Cindy was focused on being a supportive spouse and mother - running the household and driving to many athletic practices and games. From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, Cindy was a presence in the stands at games of the Springfield Youth Club, the West Springfield Little League, the Northern Virginia Fall Baseball League, and West Springfield High School, and she provided support to these athletic programs by serving as everything from Team Mother to Booster Club Secretary.

In 1990, Cindy began employment with Crabtree & Evelyn, holding the titles of Sales Specialist, Store Manager and Selling Supervisor throughout her career. She worked at several Crabtree & Evelyn stores in Northern Virginia: Fair Oaks Mall, Springfield Mall, Tysons Corner Center, and The Fashion Center at Pentagon City, and she won several monthly awards for sales and customer service. Cindy had a flair for and took great pride in creating beautiful gift baskets, which led to company-wide sales success. She earned Presidential Level sales status and won two trips to London for her creativity and customer service efforts.

Cindy and Jim moved to Alexandria, VA in 1997, and in 2009, Cindy joined Jim in retirement. In retirement, Cindy enjoyed reading suspense novels, visits with her daughter and grandchildren, shopping, taking trips to New York, activities at her Carlyle Towers community and spending time with friends.

Cindy also became an avid fan of the Washington Capitals and was thrilled when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2018 and when Alex Ovechkin broke the NHL scoring record in April 2025. While her hockey fandom was with Washington - when it came to football and baseball, she remained loyal to her "hometown" New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox - much to the lighthearted chagrin of her native New Yorker spouse.

Cindy will always be remembered for her kind spirit, selflessness, sense of humor, quiet strength, impeccable style and joy of creativity.

She is survived by daughter Jill Barry and grandchildren Noah and Josephine.

Cindy was preceded in death by husband Jim (2016) and by her parents, Harry Shkolnick and Antoinette Shkolnick (L'Heureux).

The family would like to express its heartfelt gratitude for Cindy's home hospice team from Goodwin Hospice, and for the many friends who visited and called Cindy over the past year to share stories and laughter to brighten her days.

Inurnment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on a date to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alexandria Animal Welfare League, 4101 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA, 22304, alexandriaanimals.org, or to a favorite animal rescue organization of choice.