Varrick, Barbara
Barbara Joanne Karvoski Varrick, 83, precious wife of Charles (Charley) Edward Varrick, Jr., joined her infant daughter Ruth to become one of God's guardian angels in heaven on September 16, 2021 after coping valiantly for many years with several illnesses. Barbara was born in New Britain, Connecticut, the daughter of the late Charles and Victoria Karvoski. Barbara lived a full life always surrounded by family and friends.
Younger sister to twin brothers, Barbara enjoyed learning to play touch football, basketball and baseball with
the neighborhood kids and enjoyed Fresh Air Camp in Burlington. She loved Polish music, dancing and cuisine, especially baking her prized lasagna. She had an artistic talent for music and art, and her paintings are cherished by her family. Growing up in the post-depression era, Barbara worked for Raphael's Department store as a wedding gown model and alongside her mother at the family store, Richard's Variety. In high school at Mary Immaculate Academy in New Britain, she excelled in tennis and track and academics. In 1955 she graduated a full year earlier than her peers.
It was at the Polish National Home in Hartford where Barbara and Charley first met amidst the polka music and happy clamor of the club's hall. As a member of the Polish Falcons Nest 88, Barbara was able to sharpen her natural skills as a dancer and athlete (earning countless awards) and Charley took immediate notice. It was the start of something extraordinarily beautiful between the two. They met often at the club to dance
polka and enjoy one another's company.
Barbara and Charley were married at Holy Cross Church in New Britain. It was the beginning of a union
of love and strength that carries on in the family today. The couple began their life in Manchester and East Hartford, before settling in South Windsor, where they spent most of their 61 happily married years together raising three daughters.
Barbara had the gift of tenacity. She was determined to raise her family with strength, kindness, creativity and virtue. She was one of the few mothers at the time raising her three girls during the turbulent 60s and 70s, while holding supervisory and other positions at MetLife, CBT, Fleet Bank, Bank of America, Kaiser Permanente, and Industronics where she was a Marketing Director. While at Gentiva Health Systems, her research showed the importance of lycopene in reducing some cancers.
Barbara was community-minded and was an 18-year participant in South Windsor's Democratic Town Committee, served as secretary of the Planning and Zoning Committee, and was a founding member of Citizens for Better Education. One of her greatest accomplishments was as a Town of South Windsor reporter for the Manchester Evening Herald. In addition to her informative coverage of her town, she wrote several articles that were published by the Associated Press and now live forever in cyberspace.
In retirement, she enjoyed traveling to Maine, Maryland
to visit family and for golf tournaments, family vacations on Cape Cod, Old Lyme, and Florida, and watching the UCONN Women's and Men's Basketball teams win
championships. She frequently watched the Boston Red Sox on TV, having attended games at Fenway in her youth with her family. She especially loved the
time she spent with her grandchildren, supporting their academic and athletic accomplishments, and teaching them about enjoying the little things in life. An avid
reader, Barbara always enjoyed a good book and often had one tucked into her bag.
A devout member of the Roman Catholic Church, Barbara was a communicant of St. Margaret Mary Church in South Windsor, and her angelic voice was heard as a member of church choirs in all the towns she resided in. Barbara had a genuine love for others, and listened to the concerns of all who confided in her. Without fail and no matter how tired or ill she was, she prayed nightly to St. Jude to ask for help for relatives and friends along their life's journey.
Barbara was predeceased by her infant daughter, Ruth Varrick, her parents, Victoria (Tutak) and Charles A. Karvoski, Sr.; her brother, Charles A. Karvoski, Jr.; and her in-laws, Mary (Daley) and Charles Varrick, Sr. In addition to her beloved husband, Charley, Barbara leaves behind her brother, Stephen Karvoski and his wife Jane; brother-in-law Robert Varrick and his wife Janet; sister-in-law Mary Gallant; cousin and confidant, Mary Ann Gauthier; her daughters Sharon Kinney and her
husband, Scott; Jill Fletcher and her husband Richard; and Lois Shrivastava and her husband Vinod; her grandchildren Stefan Shrivastava, Alexander Kinney, and Ashley Kinney; a large extended family including godchildren, nieces, nephews, ‘adopted daughters and
sons' and many friends who will miss her wisdom, her laughter and their many heartfelt conversations.
Calling Hours will be held on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, from 5-7 p.m., at the Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home, 419 Buckland Rd., South Windsor. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, September 30, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Margaret Mary Church, 80 Hayes Road in South Windsor. Burial will follow in Wapping Cemetery, South Windsor. Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home in South Windsor has care of the arrangements. To leave an online condolence please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com.