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RHINEBECK, N.Y. -- Barbara Jean (Weil) Bielenberg, 88, of Rhinebeck, died Nov. 27.
She was born May 7, 1927, in New York City, the first daughter of Norman O. Weil and Clara Louise (Kling) Weil of Bronxville. She attended Crestwood Elementary School and Theodore Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, graduating in 1945, then attended Michigan State University, where she majored in art history and theater. She then moved back to New York City, where she joined the staff of the Ted Bates Advertising Agency as a copywriter from 1949-51. In 1951, she married Robert C. Bielenberg, a commercial artist with Carl Byoir and Associates and moved to the Inwood section of Manhattan, where they raised three children.
In 1954, the Bielenbergs bought property overlooking the Hudson River in Garrison, where a year later they built their much beloved contemporary "glass" house designed by Stanley M. Torkelsen of the architectural firm of Edward Durrell Stone.
In 1959, she joined the staff of Boscobel in Cold Spring and rapidly rose to the position of assistant director. She later worked for Sleepy Hollow Restorations as property manager of Philipsburg Manor in Tarrytown. In the 1970s, she worked for Historic Hudson promoting tourism and public visitation to historic sites throughout the mid-Hudson Valley. Her last position was as property manager of Montgomery Place in Barrytown from 1985 until her retirement. The Bielenbergs worked together on various projects to enhance the cultural life and environment of the Hudson River Valley.
Bielenberg is survived by her sister, Mildred (Weil) Hubach of Aurora, Ohio; three grown children, Kristina Louise Bielenberg of Calais, Vt.; Carl Norman Bielenberg of Orford, N.H.; and Reid Robert Bielenberg of Hudson; two daughters-in-law, Felicity Lodge and Virginia Tayloe Dow; and four grandchildren, Sophia Adele Bielenberg, Heidi Louise Bielenberg, Reid "Cap" Dow Bielenberg and Ames Tayloe Bielenberg.
A memorial service in celebration of Bielenberg’s life will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 19 at the Elmendorph Inn in Red Hook.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to Hudson Valley Hospice, Historic Red Hook, Inc. or the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.
Arrangements are under the direction of Burnett & White Funeral Homes in Rhinebeck.
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