Barbara Willasch Ewen of Severna Park, Maryland passed away unexpectedly and peacefully in the early morning of January 29, 2023 at her home. She was born July 26, 1945 in Baltimore, Maryland to Charlotte and Walter Willasch. Barbara leaves behind and is missed deeply by her husband of 55 years, Woody Ewen, their daughter Laura Ewen Blokker, son-in-law John Blokker, grandson Theo Blokker, and extended family and friends.

Barbara was a great baker known by family and friends for all of her wonderful cookies, brownies, cakes, and other desserts. She taught her daughter how to spell dessert with the reminder that dessert has two s's because you always want more. She also loved chocolate, a trait she shared with her mother, Charlotte.

Growing older was disconcerting for Barbara, who didn't believe in growing up. She enjoyed irreverent and wacky humor and others who did too. She loved likeminded "nuts" and "old shoes" of the human variety. (You know who you are people.) Although Barbara lived most of her adult life in Silver Spring and Severna Park, she was always a "Baltimoron" at heart.

She gave her daughter a love of the historic architecture, character, and food of places like Baltimore through lots of stories and excursions. For a Baltimore girl, going to a single store to for groceries was inconceivable. She bought local before "buy local" was a thing. A trip to Snider's was a must for deli, especially corned beef. Getting Berger cookies required a visit to High's Dairy. And a good box of chocolate candies could not possibly come from any place but Rheb's.

One of the many talents of Barbara's "trick mind" was her memory for old songs, especially songs from the 1960s when she and Woody started dating. It is a great shame that she never got to be a contestant on "Name That Tune." She needed only to hear a line or the title of a song to break into a word for word rendition.

An avid daily newspaper reader, Barbara was always up on the latest news and interesting stories. She shared clippings from the paper regularly with her family, a Willasch tradition she learned from her father. She also used the newspaper to clip coupons and loved to get a good deal. She attributed her thriftiness to her German side.

Barbara cherished a view of the water. If eating at a waterfront restaurant, she wanted a table with a view. At home in Severna Park and on Hatteras Island, North Carolina, she always made sure she could have a seat with a view, including when reading the newspaper.

Through the years, Barbara worked as a legal secretary in Baltimore, Silver Spring, and Annapolis. Barbara was a prolific seamstress who could and did sew everything from curtains and cushion covers to her daughter's wedding dress. She had different "periods" of creative hobbies including ceramics, porcelain doll making, and cake decorating. Among her other activities, Barbara was a long-time member of the Episcopal Church of Our Savior in Silver Spring, where she served on the altar guild and as altar guild treasurer.

In addition to her family and friends, Barbara had two canine companions who she loved deeply; her Springer Spaniels, Cheers and Gabby, who both passed on before her and she has now gone to join. Some heavenly tails must be wagging. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ASPCA at https://www.aspca.org/

The family will have a private gathering.