Barbara Jan DiPaola

Barbara Jan (Christy) DiPaola, age 81, fell asleep in death after a decade battling various illnesses…with her beloved husband Paul by her side. She was preceded in death by her parents Bernard Christy and Beatrice (Dickerson) Christy and all her siblings, Beverly Bremer, Barry Christy, and Becky Sinclair of Lansing, MI. She is survived by: her husband of 29 years Paul Anthony DiPaola of Crown Point, IN. Her 3 children/spouses: Monica Lynn (Brad) Clemens of Daytona Beach FL, Michael Bruce (Annette) Hornbeck of Lakeview MI, and Melinda Jan (Christopher) Greene of Lansing MI. Grandchildren: Elise (Clemens) Pace, Jared Clemens, Jonah Greene, Levi Greene. Great grandchildren: Ava, Tatum, Mia, Lincoln, and Olivia Pace, and Eliana Clemens. And many nieces and nephews. Step-sons/spouses: - Michael (Rene) DiPaola of Portage IN, Stephen (Malisa) DiPaola of Louisville KY, Matthew (Kristina) DiPaola of Howell, MI. Grandchildren: Christopher DiPaola, Carly DiPaola, Mason DiPaola, Anthony DiPaola, Vincent DiPaola and Joseph DiPaola. Damien Mikuly, Amanda Mikuly Great grandchildren: Averie, Connor, and Carson DiPaola, Tayla Foley, Cainen Kopf. Barb was born in Lansing MI and graduated from Lansing Eastern High School. She grew up as the youngest of 4 children and had a close relationship with her family until their death. Barby enjoyed music, clogging, home decorating and especially arts, crafts. She married young and had three children who were the center of her life. She was always a supportive and proud mom! And later, she was a fun, generous, loving Grandma!! After rearing her children she worked as a licensed cosmetologist and massage therapist. Later she graduated top in her class from Lansing Community College as an RN at age 50, and worked at Sparrow Hospital. In 1993 she married her beloved Paul and moved to Crown Point, IN. There she worked at group homes for the developmentally impaired until her retirement at age 65. Barb was loved by her clients because of her kind, compassionate, and caring nature. In 2003 Barb was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She was especially drawn to the Bible’s comforting teaching of the resurrection. Because of her faith in Jesus' ransom sacrifice, she looked forward to the near future when her dead loved ones would be raised to life on a beautiful cleansed earth! Even as her mind faded with early onset dementia/Alzheimer’s she kept her confidence in Jehovah’s promises and was faithful to the end. She died a loyal wife, cherished mother, and good friend to many, and will be truly missed. The family would like to give thanks to the many friends who have supported Barb and Paul over these past years, including her close friends, Judy and Kim Bryan, the D’Angelo family, and Les and Tracy Pickett. More recently we thank Traditions Hospice for their excellent care. And a very special thanks to Jean Chikwama who proved to be a patient, loving caregiver for Barb, and support for Paul. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1199 S. Indiana Avenue, Crown Point, IN. The service will also be on the Zoom platform

Barbara Jan DiPaola

March 27, 1941 - June 6, 2022