Barbara Francis Staada, age 65, of Cornelius, North Carolina, formerly of Wayne, New Jersey, passed peacefully at home surrounded by her husband and daughters on Thursday, May 11, 2017.

Barbara was born April 1, 1952 to Thomas and Lillian Higgins and was raised in Wayne. Barbara loved growing up with her siblings, Margaret and Michael even if her sister did try to sell her to the neighbors when she was just a baby.

As a family, Barbara along with her parents and siblings, often spent summer days at Sparta Lake.  The lake was a nice reprieve from the hot summer heat, even though Barbara often spoke about the water snakes that could be seen sunning themselves on the rocks. It was one of these many trips to the lake that led to her meeting George Staada, the man who would become the love of her life. The lovebirds were married on December 21, 1969 and they enjoyed a loving 47 years of marriage.

After a short stint in Barbara’s hometown of Wayne, the couple settled in West Milford, NJ to raise their two daughters, Tracey and Jen.  Once again, Barbara and George found themselves living lakeside in the family oriented community of Lindy Lake.  Barbara enjoyed being a part of the close knit lake community, often volunteering at swim meets, Jr. Olympics, Movie Nights and much more.

Barbara was as committed to her career as she was to her children.  She served as the Assistant Business Administrator in the Allendale Board of Education for 25 years.  Barbara then went on to finish out her career at the Montville Board of Education before retiring in 2015.  All that worked alongside Barbara knew that she loved her job but more than that, she loved the people she worked with and the opportunity to work with teachers on a daily basis.  

Anyone who met Barbara loved her, she was easy going and made everyone feel welcomed. Barbara was a constant source of strength for everyone in the family always filling any and every void. When her daughters gave birth in different states, Barbara dropped everything and was there to support them.  When her father and brother became ill, Barbara became their care giver and cheerleader. Family was second to none for her and she proved this day in and day out.

Barbara’s overwhelming love was also extended to animals. Her kids knew all they had to do was get any stray animal to follow them home and mom would take them in. The family often spent nights playing running bases and it was after one of these games that Barbara fell in love with a stray cat that soon became the new family pet, Squirt. They say that if it was up to her, Barbara would have taken in any stray she found, including people. One specific dog who stole her heart was Punky. Even though she was a birthday present for Jen, Barbara loved that dog with everything she had.

When their children were growing up, the family enjoyed visiting Long Beach Island every summer.  There were many great days spent on the beach and nights spent enjoying the rides and arcade at Fantasy Island.  As the girls got older and moved away, Barbara and George continued to take trips together to the beaches of Florida and Aruba always enjoying the warm sunshine.  

Once her children married and grandkids came along, the family continued to take beach vacations along the North and South Carolina coast.  Barbara loved watching her grandkids play in the sand and ride the waves with their Pop Pop George.

Barbara is survived by her beloved husband George Staada of Cornelius, North Carolina; two children: Tracey Cusick and her husband Chris of Huntersville, North Carolina, Jennifer Meisten and her husband Ken of Greenville, South Carolina, four grandchildren; Shannon, Jack, Lily, and Isabella; and her sister Peggy White of Old Forge, Pennsylvania.

In lieu of flowers those inclined to make memorial donations are asked to consider the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation  to honor Barbara's grandson Jack.