Barbara Claire Cleary, devoted to family
Barbara Claire Cleary, 72, of Bethany Beach, formerly of Bridgewater, N.J., passed away Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, at Christiana Hospital in Newark.
Barbara was born in Queens, N.Y., March 25, 1947, daughter of the late Henry Inselmann and the late Claire (White) Inselmann. She was a graduate of Queens College in New York where she was a proud member of the Delta Zeta sorority.
After meeting the love of her life, Dennis Cleary, and starting a family, they moved from New York to Springfield, Va., and then to Bridgewater, before retiring and settling in Bethany Beach in 2002. Barbara was a member of the Bethany Beach Women’s Civic Club and a weekly visitor to the South Coastal Library in Bethany Beach. She was a competitive duplicate bridge player, achieving the rank of Life Master, and also enjoyed playing mahjong with her many friends.
Barbara traveled the world with her husband and, when home, they enjoyed spending their evenings watching British television. Her true passion was for her family. She loved hosting family visits to Bethany Beach which always included trips to the boardwalk and the arcade. She was a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Butch Sevila. Barbara is survived by her husband of 52 years, Dennis P. Cleary; three children, Deborah Lofton and her husband Jake of Wayne, Pa., Monica Sevila of Great Falls, Va., and Brendan Cleary and his wife, Christine of Dublin, Ireland; and eight wonderful grandchildren, Jane Sevila, James Lofton, Will Sevila, Michael Sevila, Patrick Lofton, Shane Lofton, Nolan Cleary and Devin Cleary. She is also survived by three brothers, Henry Inselmann and his wife Cathy of Alpharetta, Ga., Billy Inselmann and his wife Karin of Seminole, Fla., and Paul Inselmann and his fiancée Maureen Bishop of Brooklyn N.Y.; and a sister Deidre Kaufman and her husband John of Flushing, N.Y.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 1, at St. Ann Catholic Church, 691 Garfield Parkway, Bethany Beach. A celebration of life reception will follow at Bear Trap Dunes golf club. Interment will be held at a later date in New York.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions in Barbara’s name to the South Coastal Library by visiting https://foscl.com/index.php/product/donation/ or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation through the family’s charity, Cars for the Cure, by visiting www.carsforthecureusa.com.
Online condolences may be sent by visiting www.melsonfuneralservices.com.
