Barbara Oberhard Epstein ’48

Barbara Oberhard Epstein ’48, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Mar. 12. She worked for two years as a social worker in Providence after graduating and then married in 1950 and moved to New York City. In 1953, following the birth of her first child, she moved back to Rhode Island and she and her husband joined her father’s business, Max Oberhard, Naval and Civilian Outfitters. Throughout the years they enjoyed traveling the world, including a trip on the Orient Express. She sold the business in 1986 after her husband’s passing and reconnected with her high school classmate, Zalman Newman. She was a trustee emeritus and life member of the Naval War College Foundation and was a member of the board of the Newport Council Navy League, trustee of Bank Newport, and trustee of Newport Hospital, served as chair of the Newport Public Housing Authority, and was an advisory committee member of R.I. Blue Cross and Blue Shield, a board member of Child and Family Services, and a member of the Newport Rotary Club. In addition she was an active member of the Jewish community, serving as a board member of both Touro Synagogue and the Touro Synagogue Foundation. She was a past board member of Jewish Alliance of RI and a life member of Hadassah. She was a president of the Newport County Chapter of the American Association of University Women and the 1986 Honoree of the AAUW Educational Foundation. She also served as a president of her class and was a past president of the Newport County Brown Club. She is survived by her companion, Zalman Newman; a daughter and son-in-law; two sons and daughters-in-law, including son David ’74; and five grandchildren.