Barbara Klipper Francis,93, died peacefully at her home at The Osborn in Rye, New York on August 30, 2022.
Born in Larchmont, New York, she moved to Los Angeles at a young age with her widowed mother and two brothers. After graduating from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles and spending one year at the University of California at Berkeley, she transferred to UCLA, from which she graduated in 1949. She wrote a regular column, called “Looking Ahead”, for the Daily Bruin newspaper which dispensed practical advice for women. It was on the Daily Bruin that Barbara met her future husband, Charles Francis.
In 1962, Barbara and Charles moved with their two young children to Chappaqua, where she was active in many community activities, including serving as president of the Chappaqua PTA and volunteering for the League of Women Voters. She followed her lifelong passion for newspapers by selling advertising for several years for the Patent Trader newspaper in Mount Kisco. She later spent 15 years as Associate Director of the Westchester County Medical Society.
After Barbara and Charles moved to The Osborn in 2001, she took a particular interest in welcoming new residents to The Osborn community, chairing the Hospitality Committee for many years.
“She was full of energy, kind, and generous to all who were fortunate to have known her,” said her family. “She was also passionate about gardening, current events, and Democratic politics.”
Barbara and Charles Francis were married for 60 years. He died in 2009. She is survived by her two children, Abby Francis Kohnstamm and Paul Francis; her grandchildren, Sarah Macone and Paul Kohnstamm and Charles and Eleanor Francis; and her great-grandchildren, Logan and Ellie Macone, Leo Kohnstamm, and Arthur Francis, all of whom she was tremendously proud of.
A memorial service in celebration of Barbara Francis’ life will be held at Whitby Castle on Tuesday, September 20 at 1 p.m..
The family requests that donations be given to The Osborn, 101 Theall Road, Rye, New York 10580, or Calvary Hospital, 1740 Eastchester Road, Bronx, New York 10461.
