Barbara Ferrantino

Barbara Gay Ferrantino (née True), 88, of Berrien Springs, MI went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus on Sunday, November 1, 2020. Memorials may be made to New Life Church in St. Joseph Those wishing to share a memory of Barbara online may do so at www.heritage-chapel.com. Barbara was born January 11, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Hinsdale Central High School and studied art at Drake University in Iowa. Having learned statistical typing, she worked at the General Motors Electro-Motive Division, where they made railway engines, and at Argonne National Laboratory, where they did research in nuclear physics. She became a full-time mother shortly before her first child was born in 1958, raising three children. Barbara believed that reading was important. She passed on to her children an enjoyment of board and card games, birdwatching, and jazz and big-band music. For a time, she served as a Republican precinct committeeman in Westmont IL. In 1975 Barbara went back to work at Argonne Labs, at just the time when an alert keyboardist could learn computer tech. Over the next 20 years she became a network administrator and office manager at the laboratory. Later she would serve as a church secretary and an office manager for a gardening company, bringing her talents at organization and graphic design to everything she was interested in, as well as producing customized birthday cards for everyone in the family. She moved to Seneca, Illinois in 2003, and to Berrien Springs, Michigan, in 2016, where she lived with Rachel and Ted Ward. Being surrounded by an active and faithful family gave her continued joy. She remained computer savvy, and secured the handle "insta.grammaaa." Barbara was a loving mother and grandma. Barbara is survived by her sons Michael (Karen Burrell) Ferrantino, Brett Ferrantino; daughter Rachel (Ted) Ward; 16 grandchildren Elizabeth, Matthew, Jerome Ferrantino; John, Jacob, Renata, Rhoda Ferrantino; Carmella, Leah, Sarah, Samuel, Ferrantino; and Cameron, Lucas, Holly, Josiah, Jeremiah Ward; one great-granddaughter Sophia Ferrantino. Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Herschiel Orr True and Victoria Antonina True (née Karpovich), brother Marshall Stanley True, and husband Joseph Ferrantino Jr, to whom she was married 58 years.