Barbara Ellen VanArsdalen, loved the beach
Barbara Ellen (Gifford) VanArsdalen, 83, of Lewes, passed away Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, due to complications from cancer. She was born March 9, 1939, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the oldest daughter of the late Pearl Ellen (Windsor) Gifford and Walter Freeman Gifford, and raised by Pearl (Gifford) and Allen Johnson.
Barbara graduated from Laurel High School in 1957 and attended nursing school at Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, graduating with her diploma in 1960. She also attended University of Delaware from 1970-73. In 1961, Barbara married Hubert Vaughan Prettyman and they had two sons, Allen and Stephen. In 1989, she married Warren VanArsdalen. Barbara worked both as a hospital and an office nurse, finishing her career as a school nurse at Christiana and Newark High Schools. She loved the beach and being in the sunshine, and multiple crafts including sewing and needlepoint. Barbara was an avid reader and she volunteered at Lewes Public Library. She loved her family deeply.
In addition to her parents, Barbara was preceded in death by her husband, Van. She is survived by her sons: Allen Vaughan Prettyman (Tara) and Stephen Robert Prettyman (Jacquelyn); her grandchildren: Morgan Briana Waad (Tyler) and Duncan Vaughan Prettyman (Ari); her sister, Pat Howe (Ken); her nephew, Joe Collison (Amy); and her niece, Kathy Collison (Jim Shephard); as well as several great-nieces.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 12, at Bethel Methodist Cemetery, located between Lewes Elementary School and Beebe Healthcare, Savannah Road, Lewes.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, Lewes.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Barbara’s memory to Friends of the Lewes Public Library, 111 Adams Ave., Lewes, DE 19958.
Visit Barbara’s Life Memorial webpage and sign her virtual guestbook at parsellfuneralhomes.com.
