Barrie Alix Kleinman Chi was born on June 9th, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois, and at six months old was the first baby to ever fly into LaGuardia Airport. Barrie will be most remembered for her kind and gentle spirit. She was a wonderful friend, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, and world traveler. Barrie left us much too soon, suddenly yet peacefully, at home on Thursday, October 24, 2019. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Emile C. Chi, her brother Jeffrey Kleinman, her daughters Alison (and husband Terry), Carlin (and partner Erik) and Gillian (and wife April), and her six extremely beloved grandchildren: Jesse, Twyla, Gael, Kieran, Rosalie, and Delphine. She was their ‘sweet grandma’ and they were the greatest joys of her life. She told their parents this all the time.

Barrie grew up on 87th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her younger brother Jeff and their mother Ann, a devoted single mother who worked as a bookkeeper to support their family. Barrie was also extremely close with her grandfather Abraham, her aunt Paula, uncle Al, and cousin Joseph. Paula was a dancer in the original production of Oklahoma and one of Barrie’s favorite childhood memories was getting to ride in the “surrey with the fringe on top” on the Broadway stage. Barrie attended Joan of Arc Junior High School and then Hunter High School in Manhattan, and began her college education at Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois -- the latter she hated! She then took courses for credit at Harvard University in Cambridge, and ultimately earned her Bachelor’s degree from City College in Manhattan. She proudly earned two master’s degrees: the first in Chinese Language and Culture at St John’s University in Queens, and the second in English Education from Teacher’s College at Columbia University. She taught all nationalities and all ages -- from pre-schoolers to seniors -- in her career. She first taught at public elementary schools in New York and New Jersey, and later became an Associate Professor of ESL at Union County College in New Jersey. She was also a Professor of English at Qing Hua University in Beijing from 1979-80. While she loathed the administrative tasks associated with teaching (and occasionally lost students’ papers), she always loved her students and they loved her. Many students became life-long friends. Her students often gave her holiday gifts, some more appreciated than others...one such gift was a huge lamp in the shape of a boat that made her family laugh for many years. Barrie retired from Union County College at the age of 66 in 2005, partly to have more time for travel. She and Emile visited many countries together, by train, airplane, and boat. Barrie was also a voracious reader who visited the library every few days, quickly earning the affection of every local librarian -- they all knew her on a first-name basis. 

Barrie and Emile first met as teenagers at a wedding in New York City, although when a friend proclaimed her intentions to marry Emile, Barrie said “Fine, you can have him.” Apparently Barrie changed her mind because Emile & Barrie married a few short years later at The NY Society for Ethical Culture on June 7th, 1959 - just two days before Barrie’s 20th birthday. They lived together first in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then in Riverdale, Bronx with their dog Bao-zi (Chinese pork bun), then Denmark for a year, France for a summer, and then Flushing, Queens. They stayed in Flushing for two more years after their first daughter Alison was born in 1967, and just before Carlin was born in 1969 they bought a house in Teaneck, NJ and raised all three children in that house. The whole family traveled to China many times, beginning in 1971 and living there for a year in 1979-80. and Barrie learned to cook Chinese cuisine by visiting the kitchens of restaurants all over China. She became an excellent chef, chopping everything in the kitchen with her heavy Chinese cleaver knife. Much to her family’s dismay, she never wrote down her recipe creations. We would constantly ask her to “please make that dish again” and she would say “I don’t remember what I put in it!” She later shared this love of cooking with her grandchildren, baking cookies for them and cooking with them. Barrie and Emile also made homes in Breckenridge, Colorado (to enjoy the beautiful mountains) and Novato, California (to be near the West Coast branch of the family). They made many wonderful friends in both communities. 

In her retirement Barrie also became a dedicated volunteer. She volunteered for many years at For Pets’ Sake — a non-profit thrift store in Breckenridge whose proceeds support ARR (Animal Rescue of the Rockies). Her co-workers at the store became close friends. Most recently she volunteered by running an English language conversation group for immigrants at the Novato Public Library. She had a tremendous respect for immigrants and loved hearing their life stories, and helping them to learn English was really just a bonus.  

Barrie was deeply loved by all who knew her and will be greatly missed. Friends and family are invited to join us for a celebration of her life on Saturday, December 28th at 5:00 pm at The New York Society for Ethical Culture at 2 West 64th Street New York, NY 10023. In lieu of flowers, she would have very much appreciated donations to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Barrie was a life-long champion of the fight against hate and bigotry and a supporter of teaching tolerance. She also inspired her three daughters in countless ways, and each of them carries her spirit — not only in their social justice work but in everything they do.