Monday, March 8, 2010

Goodbye to Barba-Del

We received the unfortunate news that Barba-Del Campbell, one of Allentown's most beloved residents, a true lady and lover of the arts, passed away over the weekend. Here are the details and a lovely photo of Barba-Del by Scott Snyder.

Received via email:

I reget to report the lost of art patron and Valley resident, Barba-Del Campbell. She was born Feburay 9, 1932 and died Saturday March 6, 2010 at Lehigh Valley Hospital, 6:30 am. She was an Icon in the Lehigh Valley.

A memorial service will be held at the House of Chen, 732 W. Hamilton Street, Allentown, Pa, on Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 1-4pm.

She will live on in all of our stories and the history of the Lehigh Valley.



7 comments:

Angie Villa said...

I will miss Barba-Del. She was an enthusiastic supporter of the Chen Arts Group. You may have had the pleasure of meeting her at one of our group show openings.I met her close to two years ago at our very first meeting at House of Chen.We had spoken on the phone prior to that meeting and she was so thrilled to hear about a new artist group in Allentown. There are some beautiful tributes written by local artists who knew Barba-Del. I spoke with Chenster Ro Geseck last night- she knew Barba-Del for over twenty years.
Please take the time to read about this amazing woman.
Here is a link to a piece written by Heather Sincavage:
barba-del:i am here for the world
Google Barba-Del Campbell for more.

I recently sent Barba-Del some photos of her that were taken at Chen events and she sent me a postcard telling me how thrilled she was to have received the photos. I will always treasure the letters and postcards she sent to me and my family. She was always so kind and encouraging.

Note: Barba-Del passed away on March 6, not February 6th.

Angie Villa said...

Here is artist Ann Schlegel's tribute to Barba-Del:
barba-del

heather sincavage said...

thank you for including a link to my blog entry on your site. as many can say, she was an incredible woman and will be sorely missed.
-heather

Bill Villa said...

Our pleasure linking to your really nice post on Barba-Del, Heather, and Ann's really nice post too. We're all gonna really miss Barba-Del, she was such a cool person.

Chen Arts said...

Note from Jenny at House of Chen: There is free parking Saturday in the Wachovia lot at 7th and Hamilton for those attending the memorial service.

PaintingEachDay said...

I look forward to seeing Barba-Del's fans and friends on Saturday ... still so hard to believe that she's gone ...

Please change the date of her passing away to March 6th.

Marie Steeger said...

I was a neighbor of Barba-del's for a short time on 4th street. She entertained me so with stories of the famous people she knew, living through the civil rights era, her family, life in the "biz", and how I made way too much noise in the morning! She was just plain fun, dressed well and had my envious attention on that fact. We wrote each other briefly once I moved back out of the valley, and I can only hope and pray she has found that wonderful castle she so deserved to live. Thank you so much for the color you added to my life Barba-Del. I will get your autograph when I meet you on the other side. We'll have a beer and some cigarettes.

Love, Marie