Winchester Gardens Celebrates Women’s History Month with Touching Resident Spotlights

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’d like to share profiles on four of our inspiring residents – Barbara Hines, Daniela Gioseffi, Susan Hoag, Linnie Weiland.

Thank you to Sales Counselor Nona Lancaster for gathering and sharing these remarkable stories!

Before the New Neighbors Committee was established, Barbara Hines, along with Mike Nervi and Mary Ann Bradley, co-chaired the Newcomers Committee for several years. Barbara’s role was to find speakers for their monthly meetings. This tactic worked well because her warm and friendly nature made it hard for people to turn her down. While she spent her time organizing the speakers, what some didn’t know was that Barbara’s life was interesting enough for her to give a talk of her own.

Barbara was born in Washington, D.C., during the time when “separate but equal” laws were in effect. Her older sister passed away when she was a child, and her mother, Sophie Lutterlough, was often away from home working after her father left. Barbara lived with a well to do African American couple, Mary and Joseph Robinson, and visited her mother on weekends.

As a teenager, Barbara moved back in with her mother and kind new stepfather, Henry, full-time. She knew her mother worked at the Smithsonian – which gave their life a certain stability – but didn’t hear much about her day-to-day. One day, Barbara came home to find her bags packed and her mother informing her that she would be attending Immanuel Lutheran College, an all-black boarding high school in Greensboro, NC.

After graduating, Barbara briefly attended Howard University, where she met her future husband, Willis Hines. Following his graduation, they moved to New York, then later to New Jersey, where they raised their two children, Bryan and little Barbara.

While helping at a nursey school, Barbara discovered her passion for teaching children. Motivated to complete what she had started at Howard, she enrolled in Kean University, graduating magna cum laude. She eventually became the director of that nursery school.

Around 2000, Barbara came up with the idea of opening a nursery school in her church, Cross of Glory Lutheran Church, located in Aberdeen. With the help of her late friend Janet Kain, what started as a small concept with just one student has since grown to welcome countless children and continues to thrive nearly 25 years later.

Barbara and the late Willis moved to Winchester Gardens in 2019, just two days before Christmas. Some time after, Barbara received a phone call from an excited friend from her church, who had come across an article. It was then that Barbara finally learned the full story of what her mother had been doing at the Smithsonian for 40 years! Read more here.

The article featured Mrs. Lutterlough, who was hired at the Smithsonian as an elevator operator and over time became Curator Ralph Crabill’s research assistant. She even has an insect named in her honor! Barbara had no idea about her mother’s remarkable journey until that moment. For more details, you can visit Sophia’s Wikipedia page.

Barbara’s family continues the legacy of accomplishment. Her daughter is a psychotherapist and her granddaughter, Vanessa, is a Vassar graduate who majored in women’s studies and recently decided to follow her dream of becoming a doula.

When asked what advice she would offer to young women, Barbara said, “Choose a career that brings you joy.” She has seen this passion firsthand in both her mother and now her granddaughter.

A woman of many talents—singer, Shakespearean actress, teacher, author, and activist for human rights—she’s also a proud mother of one and grandmother of two.

As the first woman in her family to attend college and the first female author with an Italian surname to be published, Daniela has paved the way for others. In 1960, she worked as an intern journalist at Salem, Alabama’s first TV station, where she advocated for the Voting Rights Act, among other civil rights leaders including John Lewis.

She earned her BA in English and Creative Communications, followed by an MFA. Her earliest influences were her female teachers. Throughout her esteemed career she taught communications and public speaking and authored 17 books—6 of poetry and 11 focused on social justice.

She is listed in the book “Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975” alongside trailblazers like Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Today she is referred to as a Veteran Feminist.

In her personal life, Daniela enjoys poetry, birding, painting, and cooking. She frequently reflects on her younger years and how fast time flies. She encourages young girls to embrace confidence, recognize their strength, and appreciate their beauty—both inside and out. She jokingly remarked that “youth is wasted on the young.”

Here at Winchester Gardens, she’s an active member of the Executive Council, a former chair of the Welcoming and the Environmental Sustainability Committees, and the founder and current presider of the poetry group.

Susan and Linnie serve as co-chairs of the New Neighbors Committee here at Winchester Gardens. Together, they oversee a team of Resident Advisors (RAs) who welcome new residents to our community. In addition to managing the RAs, they also coordinate the New Neighbors meetings and socials. The committee’s support helps to create a welcoming and inclusive environment which allows for a smoother transition.

When asked about the individuals who have had the most influence on them, Linnie, a former Director of Urban Education in New Jersey and college professor, cited her mother, Violet Lawson, as her greatest inspiration. Violet, who taught navigation to pilots during World War II, instilled the belief that anything is possible.

Susan, a retired system’s analyst at AT&T and former Mayor of Chatham Township, shared that seeing women in leadership roles has had a profound impact on her. In the past, men were often placed in leadership positions or on the track to becoming a leader by default, while women provided support. Thanks to a series of consent decrees, Susan was able to pursue her own leadership path.

When asked what advice you would give to young women, Linnie emphasized the importance of building relationships with other women, while Susan encouraged seeking out female mentors and becoming mentors to other women. Both Linnie and Susan continue to inspire those around them.