Church Founder, Grandmother of 6 Dies at 78

The grass never grew under Barbara Shively’s feet.

The longtime Morristown resident was always busy, whether during her professional career or aiding organizations in town.

Shively died at the age of 78, according to her obituary.

For years, Shively was a technical documentation editor for The Geological Society of America, later becoming its managing editor. In that position, the GSA cited her with a Superior Accomplishment Award in its inaugural honoring, her obituary said. She later became an editor for Exxon Corporation in Florham Park.

Outside of work, Shively was a founding member of St. Thomas More Parish in Convent Station in 1966. Later in life she became a communicant at Assumption Church in Morristown.

Among her other extracurricular activities, Shively was part of the League of Women Voters and became head of the state’s League of Woman Voters Water Subcommittee. She also authored the biography of Geraldine Rockefeller Doge in the book, “Past and Promise, Lives of New Jersey Women,” which was published in 1990.

Shively also spent time as a member of the Morris Choral Society and a member of the Women’s Club of Morristown.

She is survived by a daughter and son and six grandchildren. She is predeceased by her husband, Richard, who died in 2008.