Titusville resident killed in Upper Makefield flooding known to always lend a helping hand

Susan Barnhart never hesitated to lend a helping hand to those around her.

At the Washington Crossing post office where she worked, Barnhart will be remembered for the care and attention she gave to her customers. And to her neighbors, Barnhart was known to bring joy to her community and for the endless love she showed to the animals in her life.

Sarah Orfe, who has lived next door to Barnhart in Titusville, New Jersey for 10 years, said that “from the time we moved in, she was just about the friendliest, most helpful person.”

While Barnhart's life was cut short at 53 years old in Saturday's tragic Upper Makefield flooding, she leaves behind a strong impact on both the Washington Crossing and Titusville communities.

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A friendly, dog-loving neighbor

True to her compassionate nature, Barnhart often helped her 88-year-old neighbor Connie Kilner and 90-year-old husband, Donald, who is wheelchair-bound.

"I've known her since she was born, it's hard to believe she won't be here," Kilner said.

"She loved animals, she loved her dogs, she was a nice person and just very generous. It's really a loss to everybody that knew her. She was always very helpful with whatever people needed to do," she said.

Anytime Orfe’s family needed a garden tool, Barnhart would lend it. When Orfe’s children were little, Barnhart played basketball and taught them how to carve pumpkins. And when Orfe’s husband needed help removing tree limbs and dragging tree branches, Barnhart was there to help.

Orfe said Barnhart was “the queen of the dog park. That was her passion.” Barnhart also had a koi pond in her front lawn, where she would feed her pet bullfrogs.

Barnhart's beloved dog, Kota, was with her during the flash floods; Orfe and Kilner both expressed wonder that Kota survived.

More: They spent more than 40 years together. The fatal flooding took their lives

A beloved post office worker

Barnhart managed to make bureaucracy pleasant in her job at the Washington Crossing post office, where she made a strong impression on all customers — including the local police.

A Facebook post from the Upper Makefield Township Police Department account said that members of the police department “personally knew Susan Barnhart since she worked at the Washington Crossing Post Office. She was always so welcoming and kind to us and we will miss her deeply.”

Sean McCaffery is a Titusville resident who said he had never met Barnhart before getting tired of his local disorganized post office and making the decision to try out the Washington Crossing location.

“I was in there for ten seconds and she immediately recognized that I didn’t know what I was doing,” McCaffery said.

Washington Crossing became McCaffery’s go-to post office, and he said that when he got married recently, it was Barnhart who was particularly helpful in figuring out the ideal way to send out all his wedding invitations.

McCaffery said he learned of Barnhart’s death when he recognized her picture as one of the flood’s victims. She had felt like a family friend to him because “she just made such an impact.”

Barnhart leaves behind her 80-year-old mother, Patricia, who she lived with and cared for. To support Barnhart's family through this tragedy, Orfe has organized a GoFundMe page that has raised over $10,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Before the floods took her life, Susan Barnhart was there to help