Barbara Stolfi Maggio is the subject actress. I am Jim Maggio her husband for almost 57 years.

When Barbara passed away on May 15, 2020, I was asked by friends at the condo we were living at whether I was going to have a memorial for her. I said, no, I was not.

Why did I say no?

Well, shortly after we had moved to Florida in 2011, Barbara’s second bout with cancer kicked in so there was little opportunity for her (us) to develop strong friendship with our neighbors.

That meant there would be very few attendees at the memorial able to speak about Barbara with any depth of feeling.

So, that would mean that any speech in praise of Barbara would have to fall on my shoulders.

And truthfully, there would have been no way I could get through any sort of eulogy without choking up and probably crying at that time.

Not only would it have been physically and emotionally impossible for me then, I think it would be equally difficult for me now.

Besides, even if I was able to speak for 15 minutes without breaking down, no talk of that duration would do justice to her (our) life experience.

And that, dear friends is why I have chosen the blogging path to pay tribute to Barbara’s life.

Mainly, to relate the colorful, and sometimes very difficult, life she had, and, also partially, to alleviate my sense of guilt for not having had a memorial for her.

This is Barbara’s memorial.

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