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In memory of

Barbara Klein Perusse

Odenton, MD, USA

June 7, 1932 - January 23, 2021

Jun 7, 1932 - Jan 23, 2021

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Barbara Mary Klein Perusse, MA
7 June 1932 ~ 23 January 2021
Odenton, Maryland

Born June 7th, 1932 in Warsaw, NY to Mary Meade and Raymond Klein, Barbara was one of four kids and many a fond memory of growing up on Buffalo Street, working and hiking in Letchworth State Park. Barbara was quite the handful when she was young, so much so that her mother started her in school a year early just to keep her occupied. Barbara, loved school and wasted no time getting started. In that one-room schoolhouse, she finished her first grade work in the morning and took on the second grade work in the afternoon. She went on to skip seventh grade and was a freshman at Mercyhurst College, in Erie Pennsylvania, at the age of fifteen.

While at Mercyhurst she never slowed down, becoming the Head of Sodality and formally crowned May Queen on Mayday as Ave Maria played over the loudspeakers throughout campus. Her workload proved to be too much forcing Barbara to take a year off to rest. She came back with gusto and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Fine Arts in 1954 and in 1957 she went on to earn her Masters in Speech and Theatre from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI.

Barbara was a talented artist and illustrator and dreamt of becoming a costume designer for musicals. She loved musicals. In the theatre after watching the opening number to the film “Chicago,” she stood up and applauded. She loved the theatre. She was courted by Yale to submit a director’s notebook but chose Marquette University for her Master’s degree instead.

It was at Marquette where she met her husband, Robert Edward Perusse from Kansas City, Missouri. After graduating and getting married at St. Michael Roman Catholic Church in Warsaw, NY on the 29th of June, 1957, Barbara and Bob moved to Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island where Bob attended Officer Candidate Program. After Bob was commissioned an Ensign, the newlyweds drove from Newport to San Francisco then off to Naval Base Guam. As a Navy wife, Barbara traveled the world. She lived in Cyprus, Cristobal Panama, and visited Bermuda, Costa Rica, The Canary Islands, Lisbon Portugal, Rome Italy, Athens Greece, Alexandria, and Cairo Egypt, where she walked the pyramids and rode a camel named Pepsi.

Wherever the Navy took them, Barbara would always find work, all the while raising eight children. She worked as a Substitute Art Teacher for the British Form School, Nicosia, Cyprus; an Associate Professor for the University of Maryland, College Park; an Art Teacher at Cristobal High School, Canal Zone, Panama; an Associate Professor at Loyola College, Baltimore, MD; a Teacher of English and Speech at Archbishop Spalding High School, Severn, MD and finally for over twenty years Barbara was the Pastoral Secretary for St. Joseph Church, Odenton, MD.

She was a member of Delta Epsilon Sigma; Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities; American Theatre, Nicosia, Cyprus; Odenton Public Library, Volunteer, Odenton, MD; and the Christian Assistance Program (CAP), Odenton, MD

When she would run out of things to read Barbara would start reading her encyclopedias. She was fond of saying, “I love my children, my grandchildren, and knowledge. She loved art, drawing, painting, she was a voracious reader, loved gardening in her yard, and watching the birds and her myriad of bird feeders. She loved hopping into her Volkswagen Beetle to drive anywhere and everywhere. You can still hear her say with that grin on her face, “I love to drive fast.” We trust there are no speed limits in Heaven.

Barbara passed away peacefully in her sleep in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, January 23rd surrounded by the love of family in her daughter's home in Virginia Beach, VA.

Barbara was a great lady and will be terribly missed by all. She is survived by her brother, Edward Klein (Judy) of Baldwinsville, NY, her younger sister Patricia (Dick) Burton of Chesterfield, MO, her children, Lt. Col. Mark (Connie) Perusse USAF (Ret.), Dr. Kevin (Julie) Perusse, Simone (Shawn) Perusse, Dr. Karen (Luther) Johansen, Brenda (Garner) Perusse Lowe, Colleen Heffern-Perusse, Patrick (Amy) Perusse, and Nanette (Patrick Budowski) Perusse, and her grandchildren Erol, Kristin, Jeffery, Derya, Alev, Kara, Michael, Aaron, Brendan, Justine, Rhianne, Cedric, Avery, Isabella, Quinn, Scarlett, Ryan, Tate, Aiden, Allison, Caitlin, Justin, Patrick, Leonie, Gene, Matthew, Luke, Mackenzie, Laurel, Joel, and Sophia.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert Edward Perusse, her son Scott Robert Perusse, her sister Dorothy Steigleder, her nephews Michael and Steven Steigleder.

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