Barbara Lynne Schreiber

Barbara Lynne Schreiber, a teacher, nature lover and long-distance cyclist, died on November 21, 2024, after a year-long battle with a malignant brain tumor. She was 72.

Barb’s athleticism and positive attitude helped her fight the disease. Her family and many friends watched her strength and courage with admiration and supported her through her last days. 

Barb was the daughter of the late V. Lester and Mary C. Schreiber of New Holland. She recently celebrated a 25th wedding anniversary with her beloved husband Mike Smolin, MD. They spent their summers in Salem, Oregon, and wintered in Oro Valley, Arizona.

Barb was aways athletic, playing field hockey in high school and taking up bicycling as an adult. She and Mike took many cycling tours during their marriage, riding hundreds of miles both domestic and international, to enjoy the scenery, exercise, and open air. 

Barb grew up in New Holland and attended Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA, graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, a minor in French, and teaching certificates in both subjects. She taught for five years in public school in West Chester, PA, while she completed her master’s degree in mathematics at West Chester University.

Her love for cycling and exploring the outdoors eventually led her to the West Coast. She taught at two community colleges and two high schools in California before settling in Oregon. After teaching for one year at Central High School in Independence, OR, Barb joined the faculty at Blanchet Catholic School in Salem, OR, where she taught upper level math for 16 years. 

Barb’s commitment to teaching and to her students is legendary. She was instrumental in developing the Math Department at Blanchet and was so admired that she was asked to deliver the commencement address at the Class of 2013 graduation ceremony. She retired from Blanchet that year but continued to tutor many students. In 2017, she was inducted into the Blanchet Hall of Fame. Barb not only taught her students mathematics, but how to study, and how to approach life with integrity. Teaching was clearly her calling. Every student she taught learned life lessons. Her influence will continue to benefit many into the future.

Barb was much more than her profession. She was a skilled massage therapist who brought relief to clients and friends. She loved her pet bunnies, Bubba and Chewy, to name two. She was known as a loyal person who kept in close touch with her family, friends and former students. The legacy she leaves behind is one of accomplishment, kindness and fun. If you knew Barb, you admired and loved her.

Barb will be greatly missed by her husband and stepdaughter, Ariella Esther Smolin of Aurora, CO; her two sisters, Nan Schreiber of Fort Worth, TX, and Becky Schreiber and her husband John Shannon of Sandia Park, New Mexico; her nephew David Huckabay, his wife Courtney and their son Jackson of Fort Worth. Her memory will be cherished by those fortunate enough to move through life with her.

In lieu of flowers, Barb has asked that donations in her memory go to the National Parks and Recreation Society, NPRA.