Obituary of Barbara Mason Loeffler

Barbara Audrey (Mason) Loeffler passed away on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 in Fleming Island, Florida. She was 77 years old. She was born on November 21, 1937 to Harold J. Mason and Arlene A. Ozal. A retired elementary school teacher, she fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an educator in 1960 when she started her elementary education career in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. There she met her husband and started a family. Her family life with husband and children was punctuated by residences in and travel to exotic, and sometimes far-flung, locales, including San Juan, Puerto Rico in the late 1960's; in the late 1990’s, she and her husband lived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Maylasia, Australia, and China. Wherever she lived, she received an enormous amount of enjoyment from interacting with children and used any opportunity to reach out to young people through education, especially children’s literature. The Bronx, New York, native spent most of her fruitful career in Alexandria, Virginia, at Hayfield Elementary School where she taught third grade. As an educator, she instilled a sense of curiosity and love of learning in her own children who have grown up to work in the field of education. She was the frequent host of impromptu field trips to historic sites and museums in and around the Washington, D.C., area. Barbara graduated from Peekskill High School in Peekskill, New York, in 1955, and later in 1959 she earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from SUNY College for Teachers in Buffalo, New York. She is survived by her loving husband of 55 years, Norman W. Loeffler of Fleming Island, Florida; three children, Andrew Loeffler of Columbia, South Carolina, Susan Loeffler-Bell of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, and Amy Loeffler of Pearisburg, Virginia; and six grandchildren, Harold M. Loeffler-Bell, Samuel R. Loeffler-Bell, Joseph J. Loeffler-Bell, Caitlin E. Loeffler, Carolyn K. Loeffler and Mark A. Loeffler. A viewing will be held Friday, January 9, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at Aaron and Burney Bivens Funeral Home, 529 Kingsley Avenue, Orange Park, Florida 32073, (904) 264-1233, followed by a service at 1:00 p.m. She will be laid to rest in Garrison, New York, at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. Donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation on her behalf at alz.org.