Barbara Brinkerhoff Jackson
(deceased)
At the 50th reunion of our high school graduation, those attending will miss those classmates that cannot be there. From the perspective of 1954, this anniversary would seem to be an eternity, but from the perspective of 2003 looking back, aided  by these photographs, 1954 seems like yesterday. Thank you Barbara for being our classmate.

Barbara Brown Rossi
31 Buckingham Drive N
Manchester, NJ 08759
732-657-2632
Spouse: Tony
Children:     2        
Grandchildren:   3 
 Year married  1961
After graduation Barbara went to Berkeley School in Manhattan and eventually worked in the Wall Street area. Barbara and Tony married in November of 1961 and had a son and a daughter.  She did volunteer work in the evening, and particularly enjoyed working on a suicide hot line out of the Metuchen Police Station.  The police dept. held a two month training program  where they were taught  to always work with a partner.  In that way, one would be on the phone with the potential victim, getting the address, etc. while the other would contact the police.  Barbara also worked diligently with a group to raise money for what is now JFK Hospital in Edison, NJ.
In reply to how she has changed, Barb says she guesses the biggest change for her is not trying or finding it necessary to please the world.  She's comfortable with her own judgment and can almost always say "no" when she feels the need.  As for an unforgettable moment, when they were first married she turned the gas on to light the oven, when the phone rang.  Fortunately, it was a telemarketer (even back then)  and the call was short.  She turned around to the stove,  lit the match and it reached the accumulated gas (just as she was having second thoughts about the wisdom of that).  Too late !!  Her face and hands were severely burned and her eyebrows were gone.  The doctor said that if it had been a wall oven, she would have lost her sight.
Barbara says she wishes she could say she went on safari to Africa or climbed the Alps, but they chose to raise their family where she was involved as a class mother and all the children's activities.  She and Tony are now enjoying their grandchildren and a new home and location, after living in Edison for 35 years.  It's called Leisure Knoll and it's lovely, but she notices there's still a house to clean and meals to cook.  Their new life is fun, with many activities and their goal is to keep up with things and keep the brain functioning.  Toward that end, they got a laptop for Christmas and a printer is coming, so they'll soon be connected to the modern world.