Cornelia "Connie" (Rusman) Barrett

Barrett, Cornelia A. “Connie” (Rusman) passed away surrounded by her loving family on February 8, 2021 at the age of 97. Born in Palisades Park, NJ on September 25, 1923 to the late Henry and Marie (Thomas). Beloved wife of 30 years to the late Richard “Dick” Barrett. Devoted mother of Cornelia L. “Connie” Barrett and her husband Bruce Fraidowitz of Manhattan and Whitehouse Station, NJ, and Theresa “Tracey” Lee and her husband Kenneth of Manhattan, NY and Revere, MA. Cherished grandmother of Julianna Lee and her fiancé Rafi Pelles of Cambridge, MA and formerly of Manhattan, NY, and Victoria and Caroline Lee of Manhattan, NY and Boston, MA. Dear sister of the late Henry Rusman, Elizabeth “Betsy” O’Brien, Mary Dougherty, John Rusman, and Dorothea “Dot” Ring. Also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great great nieces and nephews. The youngest of six siblings, Connie spent her early years in Palisades Park. She enjoyed many summers at a farm that her parents had purchased in upstate New York where she and her sister Dot would play in the fields and streams there. After graduating from Leonia High School, she went to work as a secretary in Edgewater, NJ where she made many great friends. They enjoyed dancing and going into New York City to clubs such as the Copacabana. Connie, Dot and their mother also loved the beach and together they purchased a small bungalow in Ortley Beach, which is still owned by the extended family. The love of the ocean and the shore was something that Connie and her husband shared throughout their life. Connie met her husband Dick, who worked across the street from her as a chemist, over lunch with a group of coworkers. They had a love of life in common and married in June of 1949. On their honeymoon they drove all the way to Florida and back and had a wonderful time only ending when their car gave out near the end of the trip at home. After they married, they lived with Connie’s mother in her mother’s two-family house in Palisades Park for two years until they moved to their own home in New Milford, NJ. Connie spent most of her life caring for her family as a loving wife and mother and enjoying her passions for painting, gardening and summers at the Jersey Shore. Connie and Dick were founding members of their Church, Ascension Church, in New Milford and their daughters attended grammar school there. Connie enjoyed oil painting and gathered a group of her friends in town to take lessons together in their home. It was a wonderful opportunity to spend time together with friends as well as to create some charming works of art. Connie and Dick also enjoyed growing Orchids. Dick built a greenhouse in their backyard so that they could both enjoy growing all of the variety of orchids and Connie was able to name almost every variety of flower and plant and would always delight us with her knowledge. They spent many summers in Ortley Beach, enjoying their own house they built there, going to the beach and sailing in Barnegat Bay. The family would go fishing and crabbing there, play on the beach and have fun times at the Seaside Heights amusement rides. Connie lost her husband to cancer when she was only 55 years old. She took wonderful care of him during the two years they had after his diagnosis and they were able to vacation and be together until the end. In her late 50’s and early 60’s, Connie was able to fulfill her desire to travel by taking some wonderful vacations with her daughter, Tracey. They traveled to Italy, Spain, England and Ireland and to Israel and Egypt. She also traveled to Holland with her sister Betsy and they visited relatives of her father who still lived there and who they had sent food and clothing to right after WWII. Connie then spent some quiet years enjoying her gardening hobby and joining in activities with the local women’s club in New Milford. She was also able to enjoy an expanded family with the addition of her two sons-in-law and her grandchildren who lived nearby and visited frequently. In her mid-80’s it was becoming more difficult for her to live alone in New Milford and with great courage she accepted the opportunity to move into the apartment next door to Tracey to live in New York City. In NYC, Connie was also able to enjoy an independent life since she was able to walk to the grocery store only two blocks away, which she continued to do for ten years until she was 96 and Covid restricted her opportunities to go out. Grocery shopping and meal planning were some of her greatest pleasures in her later years. She also loved talking with her niece, Lynn Ladas, who would always call her and listen to all of her stories about what was happening in the family. Connie was able to join Tracey and her family for dinner in their apartment every night which also added to her life. Her daughter Connie and son-in-law Bruce would come and take care of her for two weeks several times a year which gave them time to be close. With Covid restricting opportunities for activities, Tracey, Ken and Connie moved to a beautiful apartment on Revere Beach with a view of the Ocean to add some needed change to their lives and to be close to Connie’s grandchildren, all of whom were in the Boston area. Connie was able to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with the family and grandchildren and enjoy those holidays greatly. The end of her life came quickly with Connie’s health being quickly impacted by Covid, a fall and several other health complications. She died peacefully in her sleep at home. Due to the current restrictions with Covid- 19 all services were privately held by the immediate family. Interment George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, NJ. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Connie’s name to your local Meals on Wheels organization. For guest book please visit www.buonfiglio.com

Buonfiglio Funeral Home

Phone: (781) 284-3376

Address: 128 Revere Street Revere MA,

Website: https://www.buonfiglio.com

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