Plan for the Future
Jean Barba Strickler passed away on August 11, 2019, at the Garden Terrace Nursing Home in Chatham, N.J. after a long illness suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. She was born in Orange, N.J. in 1942 and grew up in Short Hills where she lived most of her life after her marriage to Robert Strickler. Jean was a daughter of Louis R. and Jean (nee Schill) Barba, both deceased.
Jean graduated from Skidmore College and worked for a number of years in New York City where she was employed by Time Life Books, a division of Time Life, Inc. holding a number of positions in marketing. Jean loved to travel and traveled widely all over the world- living abroad in England during the 1970’s. She was an avid gardener and a very active member of the Short Hills Home Garden Club. Jean loved to cook and studied under a number of iconic chefs including James Beard and was an active member of The James Beard Foundation for many years. She enjoyed entertaining in her home and was well known for her Christmas Day open house. In her younger days, she was an avid skier especially enjoying the skiing in Stowe, VT with her extended family.
Surviving Jean are her husband Robert and two daughters, Lauren Pahnke and Amanda Bellucci, and a son Alex, six grandchildren, Ella Pahnke, Sam and Joanna Bellucci, and Oliver, Myles and Clark Strickler. She is also survived by two sisters, Susan Welch and Joan Merrill, and a brother, Lee Barba.