Barbara Jackson Junge, a long-time Los Gatos resident, teacher and international educational consultant, died after a long illness on July 26 surrounded by family and friends. She was 89.
Born Dec. 1, 1931 in Los Angeles, she was the second of three daughters of actor Thomas Jackson and Llellwyn Smith, a Brentwood dance studio owner. Barbara graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in international relations and teaching from UCLA in 1953. She met her future husband, Norwegian native Bjarne Junge, while they were UCLA students, marrying in 1954.
She began her teaching career in Los Angeles public schools, and the couple moved to San Jose when Bjarne joined IBM. After the birth of two daughters, Barbara earned an M.A. in education administration from San Jose State and taught junior high in San Jose Unified until 1968. After the family moved from Los Gatos to Boulder, CO, Barbara earned a PhD in curriculum and instruction at the University of Colorado.
Returning to Los Gatos in 1972 with her family, Barbara joined the faculty at the College of Notre Dame in Belmont until 1975 and began educational consulting abroad for more than three decades. Speaking many foreign languages, including Italian, Norwegian and Amharic, Barbara represented several organizations, including UNESCO, UNICEF and USAID in Ethiopia, Thailand, Nigeria, Nepal and Papua New Guinea, among other countries. She treasured her assignments in Ethiopia the most and in retirement she maintained strong ties with the local Ethiopian community.
Barbara loved to read and write poetry and was a past Poet Laureate of Los Gatos. She enjoyed yoga, hiking, Lake Tahoe, gourmet cooking, Broadway plays in NYC and traveling.
Barbara is survived by Bjarne, her husband of 67 years; daughters Maria (Jim Nix) of Saratoga and Karina (Graham Hutt) of McKinleyville, CA, and three grandsons: Erik Nix of Oakland, Karl Nix (McKenzie) of Dublin, CA, and Dylan Hutt of McKinleyville; and sisters Virginia Miller of Santa Barbara and Betty Jackson of San Luis Obispo.
Friends and family are invited to a memorial service at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Los Gatos, on October 9, 2021.
Please RSVP for details to [email protected].
