Bubbe, mother, sister, longtime community member

Barbara Fass died peacefully on December 8 in La Verne. She had recently celebrated her 80^th birthday with friends and family at Hillcrest, her retirement community and home for the past decade.

Barbara was born and raised in New York. She graduated from Martin Van Buren High School and Queens College before marrying Richard Fass and moving to Madison, Wisconsin. There she earned a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and gave birth to her only child, Bob Fass.

She moved with her young family to Claremont in 1969 when Richard was hired at Pomona College. They were married for 28 years.

She enrolled in a doctoral program at the California School of Professional Psychology/Alliant International University and earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1976. She served as a private clinical psychologist in Claremont for more than 30 years and taught psychology at Pomona College, California School of Professional Psychology, and University of La Verne in its Psy.D. program.

Judaism was a part of her identity that she cherished. She made lifelong friends through a local havurah in her early years as a Claremont resident and participated actively in Temple Shalom of Ontario and later Temple Beth Israel of Pomona. She served as president of the eastern region for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles in the late 1980s and assisted with incorporating Judaism into the Hillcrest community as part of their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. One of her favorite Jewish activities was folk dancing and she was very accomplished.

“As I mourn the loss of my mother, I am forever grateful for her love and support,” said her son, Bob Fass. “She cared deeply about people and often went to great lengths to ease their pain, celebrate their joy, or share a laugh. She wanted everyone to have a sense of belonging.”

She is survived by her son Bob and his wife Kristen; brother Bill; and grandchildren Riley and Ryan.

A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, January 14 at The Meeting House at Hillcrest Homes, 2705 Mountain View Dr., La Verne, CA  91750, with a reception to follow.

Donations in her honor may be made to Hillcrest at livingathillcrest.org/giving, or by check to the address above; or to Temple Beth Israel at tbipomona.org, click “pledges and donations,” or by check to 3033 N. Towne Ave., Pomona, CA 91767.