Active in church and town activities
Mario and Josephine Barba toast 50 years of marriage at The Bull Run Restaurant in 1991. (Courtesy photo)
Josephine Marie Barba of Still River Road, who, as the wife of Mario Barba, Harvard’s “unofficial mayor,” was known to many residents as “first lady” of Harvard, died Tuesday, February 13, at the Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer at the age of 91. Her husband, Mario, died in 2000.
Josephine was born in Fitchburg October 13, 1915, the daughter of Antonio and Maria Lombardi Iannacone. When she came to Harvard as a bride, she often said, it was as if she were moving from the city to the country.
Mrs. Barba was an active member of Saint Theresa’s Church and a member of many organizations, including, in later years, Harvard’s Senior Citizens club. She and Mario were founders of Harvard’s AFS student exchange program and she was active, too, in scouting when her children were young. There were five of them: John M. Barba, now of Prior Lake, Minnesota; Margaret B. Kamalian of Potomac, Maryland; Theresa A. Barba of England; Judith B. Yoder of Arlington, Virginia; and Stephen Barba, who died in 2001. She had 10 grandchildren, two of whom she helped to raise after the death of their father, Stephen.
An outgoing, generous, and optimistic person, Josephine Barba had scores of friends, and all were welcome in her home and at her table. She was a terrific cook. Back in the days when Harvard was small and everyone attended the Unitarian Church’s annual box supper auction, Josephine’s rabbit cacciatore always sold first.
Besides her children and grandchildren, she is survived by a sister, Elena Boncyck of San Antonio, Texas; she will be missed by many nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbors. She was the sister of the late John Iannacone, Alfred Iannacone, Michael Iannacone, Tony Iannacone, Frank Iannacone, Margaret Iannacone, and Marie Deavan, U.S. Army.
A funeral mass was celebrated Saturday at Saint Theresa’s Church in Harvard, with burial at Bellevue Cemetery. Those who would care to do so may make memorial contributions to the Harvard Council on Aging, P. O. Box 615, Harvard 01451.
