3^rd Rebecca Lukens Award Recipient

The Graystone Society announced its third Rebecca Lukens Award goes to noted Chester County author, journalist and philanthropist Barbara C. Travaglini, retired vice chairman and senior vice president of G.O. Carlson.  

Eugene L. DiOrio, vice president of The Graystone Society, lauds Travaglini by saying, “Barbara clearly exemplifies the required qualifications we put forward for Rebecca Lukens Award recipients.  She is a distinguished Chester County citizen who serves on numerous civic organizations and boards. She is a cultural leader, author and journalist. And, she is a member of the G.O. Carlson family which has for many years distinguished itself in the stainless steel manufacturing business.”

Born the daughter of Gunard Oscar Carlson, Travaglini attended Bryn Mawr College, Moore College of Art and Immaculata College, earning a B.A in English in 1991. She married Fred Travaglini in June 1946 and has three sons: Gunard, Frederick and Mark. 

Travaglini has served on numerous boards and auxiliaries and has received a multitude of awards and honors, most notably in 1982 and 1998 when she received the Papal Honor. Her love of flying led her to earn a private pilot’s license over 30 years ago and own a four- seater airplane. 

She is widely recognized for her work as a columnist for The Coatesville Record from 1976 to 1992.  Most recently, she published a book about her father, The G.O. Carlson Story. As Travaglini recalls, “I am most proud of my small, but concise, biography of my father, Gunard Oscar Carlson, a man whom I admired and loved and whose honesty and kindness I try to emulate.” This book is now sold in the National Iron & Steel Museum store.

Barbara passed away on February 14, 2016.