Dr. Gertrude Agnes Barber was born September 16, 1911, the seventh child of John and Kate Barber. She attended St. Ann's for much of her elementary education and then went to Villa Maria Academy where she completed her high school degree. Dr. Barber then began an educational odyssey that included earning a B.S. in elementary and special education from the Pennsylvania State University, M.A. in psychology from Penn State, and Ed.D. in Educational Administration also from Penn State.

All of this study qualified Dr. Barber for a career, first as a teacher and then as an administrator in the Erie public school system. It was her position as an Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education that opened the doors for cultivation of the unique interest she had developed in the area of special education.

Dr. Barber believed strongly that:

Special education students should be served in their own community, in local schools, and should be able to remain in their own homes rather than being sent to an institution away from their parents, their siblings, and their friends.

Shortly before her death Dr. Barber noted with satisfaction that years after her life journey began, "few of our special people are now institutionalized as our teaching and learning centers are in our own community."

The 'community' that Dr. Barber was referring to was the large building complex called the Barber Center that she had developed after leaving the Erie School District in the 1960's. The original building complex, which had been a city hospital only a few blocks away from the home on Newman Street, where Dr. Barber grew up, was given to Dr. Barber by city officials for her special mission.

Over the last several decades visitors from all over the United States and many foreign countries have come to Erie to both study and observe the methods, care, and affection that produced such excellent results with exceptional children, many of whom had been labeled as 'unteachable.' The acknowledged success of the Barber Center has resulted in new centers being opened on a regional basis in Corry and Girard and state-wide in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. All of this growth led to the Barber Center becoming the Gertrude Barber National Institute in recognition of an exspanding mission, especially in the new approaches to combating autism. In 2006 the Gertrude Barber National Institute served over 3,200 individuals, employed 1,675 persons, and operated with a $57 million budget.

Wtih such accomplishments, Dr. Barber became a community 'icon' for what she did for generations of special needs children, and for her influence and esteem among governors, mayors, national organizations, bishops and the media. Bishop Murphy, in his eulogy for Dr. Barber, caught her spirit well when he called her, "Erie's Mother Theresa with a degree in political science."

There were many other dimensions to Dr. Barber. She was a very gracious woman, a great dancer, an avid reader always seeking book recommendations and a deeply religious woman never missing Mass. Many in the Erie community remember Dr. Barber as very competitive and deeply committed to both the excellence and class that always marked the "Lace Curtain Irish!"

She continued to work into her late 80's but death claimed her at the age of 88 when she suffered, on April 29, 2000, a fatal heart attack. She was buried at St. Peter's Cathedral with over 1,000 mourners and dignitaries in attendance.

A striking statue of Dr. Barber by artist Jerry McKenna, which was dedicated on Novmeber 14, 2005, now stands in the lobby of the striking new institute structure she raised over $6 million to build. This memorial depicts Dr. Barber as she would have liked to have been remembered - with her arms around two children!

Little wonder that Ed Wellejus in his histories of Erie would sum up Dr. Barber's service driven life in this manner:

From this reporter's...point of view, Dr. Barber's achievement represents the greatest individual accomplishment of any Erie resident in the last half of the 20th century.

Few Erie citizens who knew Dr. Barber, and her striking footprints on the Erie landscape, would disagree with Mr. Wellejus's conclusion!

BACK