Margaret M. Barras

Margaret M. Barras of 60 Broad Street, Flemington, NJ died peacefully in her home on December 30, 2012 at the age of 101. She was attended by her caregiver Selasie Rose Apedo and hospice nurse Betty Hogan at the time of her death. Margaret Ann Miller was born on March 18, 1911 to tenant farmer James Miller and his wife Julia, in a farmhouse on Everetts Hill Road in Flemington. She was the second youngest of eleven children. Mrs. Barras married the late Forrest H. Barras on January 1, 1930, at the Church of the Transfiguration, The Little Church around the Corner, in New York City.

Mrs. Barras left school after the 8th grade and a few years later went to work at the Union Hotel, in Flemington, where her older sister Florence worked and where they were later joined by Hannah, the youngest. Later she worked at the Flemington Fur Company, the local telephone company, and finally, at New Jersey Power & Light Company, where she worked as a cashier for 26 years before retiring at age 62. Mrs. Barras was well-known for her meticulous appearance, professionalism, and courtesy at the drive-up window where customers paid their bills. She liked to say that she not only received bill payments but more than a few marriage proposals as well (to which she said no, of course.)

During World War II, Mrs. Barras volunteered for the Red Cross Motor Corp, and packaged bandages and medical supplies for shipment to the troops overseas. Known as Nana Mae to the neighborhood children, she often baked cookies and celebrated their birthdays with them. She called her front porch Grand Central Station and friends and neighbors gathered on summer evenings to catch up on news and swap stories late into the night.

Mrs. Barras is survived by her daughter, Beverly Hall and her husband, the Rev. George Hall, of Southbury, Connecticut; her granddaughter, the Rev. Cynthia D. Pape and her companion Anne Moore, of Boston, MA and her grand pugs Cubby, Lolly, and Midge; her great-grandson, Eric Pape and his wife Marisa, of Easton, PA and her great-great-grandchildren, Natalie and Carter Pape; her grandson David Pape and his wife Clover of Staley, NC, and her great-granddaughters, Crystal McBane and Rebecca Pape; her grandson Joel Pape of Ormond Beach, Florida; and her grandson Mathew Pape of Roanoke, VA; and her honorary grandsons, Andrew Peters of Carversville, PA, and Frank Sunder, of Ocean Grove, NJ, as well as several nieces and nephews.

Graveside services will be held on Friday, January 11, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Capner Street, Flemington, NJ, under the direction of Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ. There will be no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross, 349 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ 08822. Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information or to send an online condolence.