JEFFERSONVILLE — Some people make a mark by what they do in life while others make their mark by how they do it.

Barbara Hahn's life will be remembered for both.

Not only did she accomplish much in her 84 years but the way in which she did it will be remembered by many as graceful, focused and very, very persistent.

Barbara and her late husband, Dr. George Hahn, were married for 58 years, before his death in 2014.

Barbara passed away on Wednesday, February 19 in North Branford, CT, but her roots and life stories will forever be connected to her beloved Jeffersonville.

This nearly inseparable couple had an effect on the Village of Jeffersonville and many of its residents which will last for generations.

One of her biggest accomplishments may be her work on the Jeffersonville Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

She was not only a founding member of the corps, but also its dispatcher and a good recruiter of volunteers.

Sue Bodenstein, who was a lifelong friend of both the Hahns, said, “There is so very much to be said for both Doc and Barbara and what they both did for our community. “Barbara was a Charter member of the Jeffersonville Volunteer Ambulance Corps and was their first Dispatcher, calling the volunteers to be sure they were responding to help the victim(s),” Bodenstein said. “Of all the memories I have of her, the most meaningful was 45 years ago when she came to our motor vehicle accident scene and saved my first husband's life by pulling him from under a seat - making sure he had an open airway, and holding him until he was transported. “Barbara worked tirelessly as a JEMS [Jeffersonville Enhances Main Street} member too, helping with the beautification of our town,” Bodenstein said. “And I have many more good memories of all the Hahn family - I worked for them while I was in high school, seven days a week.”

Sullivan Renaissance founder Sandra Gerry said, “Barbara Hahn's passion for her community and her love of the people who lived there is what Sullivan Renaissance is all about... so much so, that we named her, many years ago, ‘Renaissance Woman of the Year'!!

“Barbara was true ‘grassroots' and mobilized her community to great heights... we do miss her dearly,” Gerry said.

Sullivan Renaissance Executive Director Denise Frangipane said, “Barbara Hahn was an incredible woman. She brought Jeffersonville into the Sullivan Renaissance program and was a force in her community. When Barbara asked for support or invited you to be involved - the only answer was yes.”

Barbara graduated Jeffersonville Central School and Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing before returning home to marry local veterinarian Dr. George Hahn.

She helped in the office, managing his veterinary practice at the Jeffersonville Animal Hospital.

Neighbor - and second cousin - Andy Hahn said, “I can still see her driving through town in that big station wagon - you knew it was her. Nobody had a station wagon that big.”

Hahn said that Barbara's kind heart showed through when you visited the vet's office, “She had a way about her that made you feel good,” he said.

“They were great people who always were there to lend a helping hand, anytime anyone was in need,” Hahn said. “Great people like Barbara and George are certainly far and few between.”

Jerry Skoda, who headed the Sullivan County Cooperative Extension for many years and is also a founding member of Sullivan Renaissance said the Hahns truly supported their community.

“When I first met Barbara and George he was still making calls to farmers (for sick animals),” Skoda said. “And I know Barbara ran the office, which was the important spot.

“She was a dynamo,” Skoda said. “They were involved in their community in so many ways - ambulance corps, JEMS, 4-H.

“She was an early motivator of the whole [Renaissance] process in Jeffersonville,” Skoda said. “‘No' was not in her vocabulary.”

Former Jeffersonville Mayor Ed Justus said, “ Barbara was an outstanding member of the community and instrumental in forming the JEMS. Her passion was Jeffersonville and the beautification of our Village. She was always helpful to me as Mayor.”

Jeffersonville Mayor Bill Thony, “Her vision - from planting flowers to installing the gazebo - showed how much foresight she had.

“They meant so much to our town and did a lot to help so many,” he said.