ELISE LUDEKE BARASH (b. 1915; d. 2010), the second of four children, lived a long and full life that touched the lives of many people. She had a passion for sailing (learned from her father), gardening, and tennis. She adored children and quickly developed a special rapport with them.
Early in her life, Elise had a career in writing and editing, fields where few women were working at the time. During WWII, when she was 27, she enlisted in the WAVES, a branch of the US Navy, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant (jg). She was responsible for training fighter pilots. After the war, she returned to her career in magazine publishing.
At the age of 36, she married Ted Barash, a widower with three children, and they had a fourth child together. Ted was a well-known PR and Marketing guru in NYC, and together Elise and Ted imagined and produced many of Pennswood’s original marketing materials. Elise also brought magnificent flower arrangements to the early marketing events. Elise raised their children to always remember the importance of the myriad social injustices in the world and to contribute in some way to righting them. While raising her family, she became Director of Development at George School, and, in 1980 at the age of 65, she became one of Pennswood Village’s seven founders. She eventually served as Chair of the Pennswood Village Board.
Her Quaker principles and values guided her life at home, at work, and in the community. She and Ted were active members of both Buckingham and Wrightstown Meetings in Bucks County. She died at age 95 at Wake Robin Life Care Community in Shelburne, VT.
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