Dear Olejarz Loved Ones,
I have never met Barbara, personally, but I tried to read your newsletters sent to the church. The last newsletter practically brought me to tears. I can hear your pain through the words. You truly do miss her. What a beautiful soul she must have been to be loved so deeply. I am so sorry for your loss, but I am sure she is enjoying the presence of her loving Savior, and one day heaven will be our home. We will see our loved ones who have gone before us.
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Dear Olejarz Family,
I remember Barbara and her sisters from elementary, middle, and high school. Later, I attended my first year at James Madison University where Barbara was in her third and fourth years. She was trulyblessing as ell as inspiration to everyone she met and the lives she touched. Please know I look forward to fellowshipping with all the Olejarz Family in Heaven! Blessed be the name of Y'schua Hq Moschiach, the Captain of our Salavation. Shaloam!
with deepest respect at the passing of Barbara, now home with the Lord,
kirby lampersberger
LBHS Class of 1974
JMU Class of 1982, 1988
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Barbara, thank you for a life well lived.... lived to the full. Mike, Sarah and Josh, Belkis and I are so very sorry for your sense of loss and the ache you must be feeling. Please be assured of our prayers for you all in coming days, and you always have a place to come for a visit in NC.
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Barbara had so much compassion and wisdom as she walked with me through a very difficult time. She had a wonderful listening ear. What a blessing she was.
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Thinking of you today as you celebrate the life of Barbara. I pray that the service will be a comfort to you even in a time of deep loss. Sending my heartfelt condolences and prayers for God’s tender care for each of you.
Love,
Baja
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I can never thank God enough for Barbara, Mike and their family! Their friendship and leadership in my life has not only impacted me but countless students, faculty, staff, pastors and missionaries. Barbara’s authentic love for Jesus Christ touched everyone around her. She has so many great attributes - a woman of noble character, a faithful wife, amazing mother, faithful friend and deeply committed follower of Jesus Christ. Thank you for being an example we can follow. I’m also thankful to you (and Mike) for sharing your delicious punch bowl cake with me.
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It is not overexaggerated that the days I stayed at Olejarz family became who I am now.
Back in March 1999, I was 16 years old and I was one of exchange students in Arlington High School in Massachusetts. It was my first experience of being away from my family in Japan. My English skill was very limited but Olejarz family was warmly welcomed me and tried to communicate with me in various way like playing piano with Sarah, playing cards with Sarah and Joshua. Mike took me to Harvard University and Boston Bruins live game. Barbara took me to the cosmetic counter at local shopping mall and let me tried my first makeup. It was only a week of stay and I had a great memories of each moment. After graduating high school, I was back to Massachusetts for college in 2001 and visited Olejarz family few years later. It was a sudden visit and Joshua opened the door and I cried in front of him (Sorry, Joshua…). I remember that Barbara said to me she was not good at staying touch people but I was the one. Last time I talked to Barbara was summer 2012 when I emailed and let her know that I got married (I met him in college in Boston) and moved to Texas. She said she was just back from Japan trip.
When Barbara came to see me off at the bus stop in 1999, she asked me “Eri, do you know the word ____?” I said “No” and she said “I have never been to Japan but I love Japan because you are a wonderful person.” I am still not able to find what this word was. And I was recalling this memory few days before Sarah told me Barbara’s passing.
Reading her obituary was sad but made me smile because there was same Barbara that I knew 20 years ago. Last time I visit her place in Massachusetts, we played Scrabble together and I really enjoyed so much.
I am now about to get a job of supporting foreign students. Those great memories with Olejarz family are still inspiring me now.
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My deepest sympathies to Barbara’s family. Barbara and I attended elementary through high school together. We were also members of Colonial Baptist. Barbara was beautiful and very intelligent. She was always on the “A” honor roll (without fail). My last memory of seeing Barbara was entering high school one early morning and looking into one of the classrooms. Barbara was in prayer group with a number of students. I will always remember her for her strong faith. Prayers for you all.
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I came to minister at the MIT campus when Mike and Barbara were serving there with Chi Alpha. I had the privilege to visit their home in Boston and Barbara was so gracious and kind to serve as hostess. I shared my story of my marital separation and Mike and Barb prayed. Barbara's smile and prayer was so reassuring and my time ministering on the MIT campus went well. Two years later my wife Camille and I were reunited. After hearing the news of Barbara's struggle with Parkinson's, my wife Camille and I began to diligently pray for both Barb and Mike. Praying for Mike and Barb brought my wife Camille and I closer together and we thank God for His faithfulness to meet us all in our difficult times. Barbara will remain in our hearts and minds as we continue to pray for Mike and Chi Alpha. Blessings, Steve Lillis
www.gospeltrickshot.org
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I knew Barbara late high school and early college. She was a smart, a state debate champion, kind, strong in her faith and a beautiful person. I haven’t seen her in decades, but she has never escaped my mind. It’s hard to imagine how someone in their teens could understand so much about God, the Bible, life, love and people.
Only a handful of people I consider major influences in my life and Barbara is one. She gave me a push in the right direction. In a letter she wrote me in 1976 I found tucked in the Bible she gave me, she said, discussing salvation, “Death is an advantage when you think what it would be like to live in these bodies as they break down”.
I’m thankful to have known her.
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From the very depths of our hearts, we offer our deepest condolences upon Barbara's passing. Relative to most of those who posted here, our relationship to Barbara was all too recent, 14 years, and all too brief. However, one didn't need to know Barbara for very long to experience her as the kind, compassionate, insightful, authentic, and generous woman she was. Barbara served as a Stephen Minister in our congregation and cared for those she met with on a weekly basis, employing her intuition as a skillful listener. Barbara encountered, with one of her first care receivers a profoundly tragic circumstance, the kind that would leave most of us paralyzed for direction. She, however, along with Mike, moved toward the tragedy and cared for this young woman in ways that went far and beyond expectations. This family will forever remember Barbara's courage and compassion. None of what is shared here would take anyone by surprise that this is the Barbara we knew and cared about. If there was ever a woman who deserved to hear the words from our Lord, "Well done, good and faithful servant," it was Barbara Olejarz.
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We are saddened by the passing of Barbara. Her dedication to Chi Alpha Campus Ministries touched many lives, and her legacy of faith will continue to inspire. We pray for comfort and peace for her family, friends, and the Chi Alpha community.-Celebration Int'l Church
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Barbara was a kind, witty, lovely person that will be missed by many. We had fun with our early morning rows in C’Ville. She was small, but mighty 💕 My sincere condolences to her family and many friends.
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So sorry for your loss. Frog and I will keep you in our prayers, and know that you are always welcome, when ever you are in Ohio. Sorry we could not be there with you,
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Barbara was one of the Lord's very best gifts to me. I am forever grateful for the incredible person she was and that I had the special joy and privilege of being her friend. Her kindness, gentleness, joy, wisdom, honesty, and her heart for God influenced everyone she knew. We prayed together, ran together (running buddies), worked together (she was my boss at Evare), worshipped together (at Boston Harbor Community Church), laughed and cried together, exercised together, parented together (our children are the same age) and had lots of delicious meals together. Such a true friend!
May the Lord of all comfort give abundant peace to Mike, Sarah, Josh, Bonnie and Donna, their mom, and the rest of the family.
"All praise goes to God, Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. He is the Father of compassion, the God of all comfort. He consoles us as we endure the pain and hardship of life so that we may draw from His comfort and share it with others in their own struggles. For even as His suffering continues to flood over us, through the Anointed we experience the wealth of His comfort just the same." 2 Cor. 1:3-5
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