At Heritage, we are honored to serve extraordinary individuals with amazing life stories to tell! Keep reading to learn more about Carolyn Barber who lives at Vinecroft, a Heritage community in Clarence Center, NY.
The text below was written by Hannah Furey, former Activities Assistant at Vinecroft.
Carolyn Barber grew up around Tonawanda, NY with one younger sister, Ruth. Carolyn is the eldest by four years. She describes Ruth as a very thoughtful caring person who has helped her through some of her most difficult times. She is extremely grateful for her sister. Carolyn attended Mount Saint Mary’s Academy for girls. She first ventured into the corporate world professionally. However, she felt that her passions were elsewhere and left to go back to college for occupational therapy. This later proved to be a beneficial decision for Carolyn. She found her greatest life accomplishment was her career and all of those she was able to help through it. Specifically, she loved school-based therapy. At the end of her career she found she was happiest working with and empowering children. She humbly says she was never the reason for anyone’s recovery, only that she introduced the necessary tools to the individuals for them to reach their full potential and abilities.
Some of Carolyn’s favorite hobbies are crafting, reading, sewing, and counter cross stitch. Her husband, Eddie, would cut wood to her specifications and she would then use it to create dolls of all sorts. A shared hobby between Carolyn and her husband was their love of collecting antique carriages. Altogether, they had 13 carriages and enjoyed traveling to different events to compete. Their favorite horse, Zeus (pictured), was a beautiful Friesian, who pulled their carriages during competitions.
A fun fact about her is that her favorite season is fall. She adores the colors and the leaves crunching beneath her feet as she walks with her dog, also named Eddie. Taking care of her dog is a pleasure of hers that she does not abstain from. This can be expressed by the weekly spa trips Eddie goes on returning with a cute bow!
Carolyn also loves cooking. Her favorite food is a pot roast but she can’t help but mention her love for seafood as well. Of all the places she has been, her favorite trip was Ireland. She loved the pubs, music, architecture, the city of Dublin, and the gorgeous countryside it held. While traveling through the countryside, she remembers the sheep traveling alongside her car and getting caught up in the herd.
After a serious medical diagnosis, Carolyn found strength in the positive rather than the negative. Her diagnosis was resolved through surgical intervention. Rather than feeling sorry for herself, she realized how fortunate she was that her doctors found and were able to rectify the outcome. Carolyn likes to spread the message that when challenges present themselves, always look for the positive(s) and you will find the inner strength to get through the situation/problem. Give the gift of friendship, time, kindness, understanding, and empathy to others. In doing this, you’ll receive the gift of happiness in knowing you have helped someone and touched their life in ways you may never know. Carolyn has been at Vinecroft for 14 months. We are so fortunate that Carolyn chose to come to Vinecroft and be a part of this community. We love you Carolyn!