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Barbara Dively, 75, brain-injury survivor and advocate for others

Barbara Anne Bryan Dively.
Barbara Anne Bryan Dively.Read moreHandout

Barbara Anne Bryan Dively, 75, of Worcester, a teacher and social worker who found her life's calling helping survivors of brain injuries after she herself became one, died Tuesday, Jan. 17, of breast cancer at home.

In the early 1990s, while stopped in traffic, Mrs. Dively's car was rear-ended by another vehicle. As a result, she experienced changes in her vision, breathing, and ability to smell. "Doctors said she was lucky to be alive," said her husband, John Milton Dively Jr.

She tried a rehab facility, but the treatment did not go well, he said. Instead, using homeopathy, she was able to recover enough to work again.

Convinced that her experience might help others, Mrs. Dively became a leading advocate for patients with brain injuries, and their families, in Pennsylvania.

In 2001, she joined the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania and helped assemble a board of medical experts and professionals.

Five years later, taking a different approach to advocacy, she founded the Lansdale-based Acquired Brain Injury Network of Pennsylvania. Its board was composed of brain-injury survivors and their families. She became the group's president and executive director. She also served as a coordinator, helping individuals and their families to navigate the health-care and social services networks.

"She did a lot of talks and had a lot of experience to relate," her husband said. "She wanted to have patients recover to the point where they could go back to work and be on the tax rolls again – the old pull up yourself up by your bootstraps."

Her focus was always what was best for the person with the brain injury. Patients who received the love and understanding of their families had the most successful recoveries, her husband said.

"She had an amazing spirit and an incredible mind. She will be greatly missed by all," he said.

Born in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of Harry Dickenson Bryan and Mary Elizabeth Bryan. In 1963, Mrs. Dively earned a bachelor's degree in natural sciences from Muhlenberg College. In 1986, she completed a law degree at Villanova University, and five years later, a master's degree in alternative medicine from Rosemont College.

Before her injury, Mrs. Dively was a teacher of general science at Methacton High School in Eagleville, a legalization coordinator – helping immigrants to get green cards and work papers – for Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia, and an associate lawyer at O'Brien & Ryan in Plymouth Meeting in the late 1980s. She was running her own law practice when she was injured.

In 2009 and 2014, the Acquired Brain Injury Network of Pennsylvania received the annual Inglis Award for Continuing Excellence. The Inglis Foundation honors nonprofits that enhance the quality of life for people with physical disabilities, according to its mission statement.

In 2016, she received the Barbara Dively Award from the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania. The award is to be given annually in her memory.

In a Dec. 13 letter, Gov. Wolf praised her for her efforts on behalf of the state's brain-injured residents, her husband said.

She was active with the Homeopathic Study Group of Central Montgomery County, Montgomery County Emergency Services Board, Pennsylvania Interagency Forensic Task Force, and the Montgomery County Forensic Task Force.

She was married to Dively for 53 years. The two met on a blind date, and it was love at first sight. The couple lived elsewhere before moving in 1973 to Plymouth Township and, finally, Worcester, Montgomery County.

Besides her husband, she is survived by children Sharon "Shaie" Dively, Brenda Johnson, and Neil Dively, and a sister.

A visitation starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 25, at the R. L. Williams Jr. Funeral Home, 3440 W. Skippack Pike, Cedars, will be followed by an 11 a.m. memorial service at the funeral home.

A second visitation is planned for Trinity Episcopal Church, 708 S. Bethlehem Pike, Ambler. Burial is private.

Contributions may be made to the Acquired Brain Injury Network of Pennsylvania at http://www.abin-pa.org.