Barbara Cox

Barbara Cox (née D'Andrea)

In Loving memory of Barbara Cox

June 29, 1929 - May 17, 2024

Barbara Cox was born on June 29, 1929 at Manhattan General Hospital to Giovanni and Emily D'Andrea. She was the oldest of two children.

Barbara grew up in the Highbridge section of the Bronx on Shakespeare Avenue. She attended Sacred Heart Grammar School, Cathedral High School, and Hunter College. After college, Barbara worked for the AC Nielsen Company in midtown Manhattan. She enjoyed the work, made many lifelong friends, and was forever proud of winning a promotion from the secretarial to the professional ranks, which was very rare for a woman in those days.

In 1962, she married the first love of her life, Robert Duncan Bruce, and together they were blessed with three beautiful children. After residing in Mount Vernon, NY for a few years, they purchased their forever home in Thornwood, New York in 1967. Their lives were full of love and happiness for many years until Bob's untimely passing in November, 1982.

Following Bob's death, Barbara went back to work full time and remained active in the community and the church. She somehow found the strength to persevere during this difficult time. Over the next eight years she would raise her children and be the center of their world.

In the spring of 1990, Barbara was blessed to meet Dr. George Cox through the Catholic widow and widowers club. Barbara and George found love and in December of 1990 they were united in marriage. Together they would make a new life, and for the next 34 years they spent time with their family and friends as they embarked upon life's journey.

Barbara was an avid reader, fascinated by history, who consistently stressed the importance of learning and education with her children and grandchildren. She was also a devout Catholic, who celebrated the eucharist weekly and stayed involved with the church, the Pleasantville Garden Club, and other local community organizations. She was a relative to Saint Padre Pio (on her father's side) and she, like her brother Tony, spread his message of "Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry." But to Barbara, the most important part of life was her family. She spent her life celebrating every milestone in the lives of her husband, her children and grandchildren. Whether it was a wedding, communion, confirmation, birthday or graduation, Barbara was always there to share in and amplify the joy.

Holidays were particularly important to Barbara, especially Christmas Eve. For many, many years she hosted what would become a tradition for the entire family as they gathered to celebrate and find love, always reading the Gospel and "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Bringing her family together and seeing them was her mission in life. The happiness her family brought her was immeasurable. She would often say "a La Famiglia" - To the Family!

Barbara will be deeply missed. She will always be remembered for her beautiful smile, infectious laugh, honest-to-the-core disposition, and relentlessly optimistic outlook on life. Her family and friends and all those she touched in her nearly 95 years will remember her life and the example she set for all of us as a wife, mother, grandmother, and friend.

She is survived by her husband George; her three children, Andrea Bruce (Steven Carrera), Valerie Pizzuto (Robert), Robert Bruce (Beth Beardsley); George's daughter Cynthia Furber, and their six grandchildren, Madeleine Pizzuto, Michael Pizzuto, Hank Carrera, Mathew Carrera, Benson Furber, Hayden Furber; and many nieces and nephews. Her beloved brother Tony D'Andrea predeceased her last year.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 from 4:00-8:00 pm at Ballard-Duran Funeral Home, 21 W. Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne NY 10532. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for Barbara on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 10:30 am at Holy Rosary Church, 170 Bradhurst Avenue, Hawthorne, NY 10532. Burial to take place in the family plot at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne NY, following the funeral Mass.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Holy Rosary Church, Hawthorne, NY.