Updated 4-27-20 with correction. The National Notary Association offers its heartfelt condolences to the family of a cherished member of the NNA community, Barbara Duckett Wallace, who passed away earlier this year.
Barbara, who was honored as the NNA’s 2000 Notary of the Year, became a Notary in 1986 and dedicated herself to carrying out her duties with the highest degree of professionalism and compassion. In a 2011 interview with the Notary Bulletin, she said she notarized thousands of documents a year for patients and staff at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City, where she worked for more than five decades. She was a regular attendee at the NNA’s annual Conferences and always passed on information she learned to fellow Notaries in her community.
It was this commitment to serving others and excellence as a Notary that inspired the NNA to name her Notary of the Year. In addition, Barbara was a longtime member of the NNA’s Notary Ambassador Network.
Barbara emigrated from Jamaica in 1950 and dedicated her life to helping others. During her time at Bellevue she served in various administrative posts before she retired in 2009 as coordinator of patient services. In that position, she recruited and supervised dozens of volunteers who visited patients in the hospital.
After retiring, she became a hospital volunteer herself, putting in more than 5,000 hours visiting patients. She also served as president of the board of directors of the Bellevue Daycare Center from 1970 to 2013.