Barbara Jean Huntley, Formerly Of Southampton, Dies August 8

Barbara Huntley, 89, passed away peacefully with her son, John, by her side, on August 8th at the Suncoast Hospice in Palm Harbor, Florida.

Barbara was born on June 5, 1933, to Jack and Florence (née Cooper) Parham in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Woodhaven, Queens where she attended PS97 grade school and later, Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn. After graduation in 1951, she enrolled in the Katherine Gibbs School in New York City where the consistent accuracy of her typing earned her the moniker “No Faults Parham.”

After earning a degree in office administration, Barbara started her first job in New York City at the offices of Zenith Electronics, housed in the Empire State Building. Although she was hired as a secretary, Barbara was also asked to model for some of Zenith’s advertisements for their latest products.

In 1954, she met her future husband, James Huntley, while she was on vacation in Virginia Beach with friends. After a whirlwind romance the two were married on June 25, 1955, and went on to have 2 children, James II in 1958 and later, John Eric in 1963.

After living for a short time in the Midwest while Jim earned a degree in landscape architecture at Iowa State University, the couple settled in Glen Head, New York. It was there that Barbara helped her husband establish his own business James Huntley Landscape Architect, by managing all the administrative tasks. Once it began to flourish, it also expanded to include many upscale clients who owned estates in the Hamptons. In 1971, the couple relocated with their children to Southampton, New York where they purchased and restored a large Victorian manse-- known as Cranberry House because of its crimson color—on Hill Street.

After Jim passed away in 1991, Barbara did clerical work at the Real Estate Store in Watermill for several years and then moved to Clearwater, Florida where she worked at Morgan Stanley and then Raymond James until she retired in 2012.

Barbara is survived by a brother John of Clearwater, Florida as well as her son John and daughter-in-law, Mary-Jean, who reside in Philadelphia. Her other son James resides in Cutchogue, New York.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, an organization Barbara felt strongly about.