IN MEMORIAM Barbara Jiongo

Barbara Jiongo passed away on May 9, 2024. A member of FWCD’s esteemed Club Viginti, Barbara joined the Admission Office in 1986 as a Private Educational Diagnostician. She became the Assistant Director of Admission in 1991 and then the Director of Admission and Financial Aid in the 1996-97 academic year. She held this position until her retirement in 2014.

As a Private Educational Diagnostician, Barbara evaluated students for FWCD’s kindergarten program. She relished being in the “Dinosaur Room” in the Butler Kindergarten Building and being known as the “Dinosaur Lady.”

In 1991, Head of School Geoffrey Butler H’98 asked Barbara to join the Admission Office as a full-time Assistant Director. She worked with then Director of Admission Karen Stewart and took on the Director of Admission and Financial Aid role when Karen retired.

Barbara shaped the School’s Admission Office. She brought in Kathy Lott, who took on the Director role following Barbara’s retirement in 2014, and Yolanda Espinoza (Admission Associate), whom Barbara credited with helping to keep the office running smoothly. Barbara shared her wit, wisdom and expertise with Yolanda and Kathy, who passed on all they imparted from Barbara to current Admission Director Caroline Corpening Lamsens ’99. Barbara’s legacy and commitment to admission excellence live on in the office.

Overseeing tuition assistance at FWCD was very important to Barbara. “While admission is the part everyone sees, I have always known that financial aid is crucial, or there would be many fewer new students in every grade each year,” she said in a 2020 Falconer article. “Without the dollars to help families bridge the gap between what it costs to attend FWCD and what they can afford, the School would be missing out on so many talented, deserving students, many of whom go on to become great benefactors of FWCD as adults.”

FWCD was more than a place of work for Barbara; it was home for her family: Meredith Grant Qualls ’03, John Jiongo ’12 and Maddie Jiongo Abbott ’14 are FWCD Originals. “They would not be the accomplished, confident and philanthropic young adults they are without their FWCD education,” Barbara noted. “Their teachers and coaches made such important impacts on their lives, and they are still dear friends with classmates from kindergarten and beyond.”

Barbara was generous with her time and treasure because she saw the importance of education firsthand. When Barbara retired from FWCD in 2014, she and Mike established the Dorothy and AB Waldron Memorial Fund for Financial Aid. The family contributes to this fund annually.

“Barbara touched countless lives. All who knew her will tell you they are the better for it,” said Head of School Eric Lombardi. “So many of you were fortunate to work with her and benefit from her wisdom, kindness and generosity. She dedicated more than 25 years to the School and loved this community. I know we will miss her dearly.”