Maryhannah Finch Slingerland Barberi

Maryhannah Finch Slingerland Barberi, 97, passed away on October 1, 2015 in Westport Point, MA. Wife of seventy-two years to the late Matthew Barberi. Born in Albany, NY on January 4, 1918 to the late Henry and Susan Finch Slingerland. She is the mother of Robert (Margarita) Barberi Sr. of Middlebury, Richard (Georgia) Barberi of Great Barrington, MA, Susan (Robert) Montgomery of Westport Point, MA, Marnie (Donald) MacLean of Ancram, NY, and Tom (Ellen) Barberi of Ridgefield. Grandmother of Ian (Klaudia) and Krin (Dan Carhart) Barberi, Lila (Alex) Hochron, Rose (Meghan) Burchfield MacLean, Robert Barberi Jr., Jeffery Barberi and Susan (Colin) Ford, Elizabeth (Simon) Frishkoff, Dr. Robert (Christa) Oelhaf, and Lia and Margot Douillet. Great-grandmother of Noah and Miriam Hochron, Sonia, Veronika, and Amelia Barberi, Carl and Eric Oelhaf, and Melissa and David Frishkoff. Aunt to her niece, Tahlma Ahlers and nephew, Henry F. Slingerland and sister-in-law to Nanette Slingerland. Predeceased by her two brothers, Lt. JG Obed F. Slingerland, USN, killed in action in the South Pacific in WWII, and Henry F. Slingerland, and a nephew, Obed F. Slingerland. After attending the former St. Agnes School in Albany, she majored in early childhood education and graduated from Connecticut College in 1939. Her career in early childhood development started in 1938 on the staff of the Children's Center in Hamden, where she met her husband. Maryhannah went on to teach in nursery schools in New York and California, and for many years as a kindergarten teacher in the Hamden School System. She was an early and influential teacher in the pilot program for Project Headstart funded by the Ford Foundation in New Haven, and can be seen in instructional videos recorded after it launched as a federal government program. Funeral from BEECHER & BENNETT, 2300 Whitney Ave, Hamden, on October 17th at 9:00 a.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Rita's Church, 1640 Whitney Ave, Hamden at 10:00 a.m. followed by her burial in St. Lawrence Cemetery. Friends may also visit with her family at the funeral home on Friday, Oct. 16th from 4:00 to 8:00 PM. Contributions in Maryhannah's memory may be sent to St. Rita School, 1601 Whitney Ave., Hamden, CT 06517, the Hamden Education Foundation, P.O. Box 185783, Hamden, CT 06518, or the Obed Finch Slingerland Memorial Prize, c/o the Trustees of Amherst College, P.O. Box 5000, Amherst, MA 01002.