Jersey Shore ice cream store owner is remembered after tragic accident

STONE HARBOR, N.J. (WPVI) -- Barbara Humphreys, the longtime owner of Springer's Homemade Ice Cream in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, died in a tragic accident last Thursday.

As their famed Jersey Shore institution gets ready for the unofficial start of summer, Humphreys' family talks about moving forward.

"My mom was wonderful and this is where she really shined the brightest. She was out here in the trenches with the kids," Mary Humphreys Goldenthal said.

Barbara, 82, was a regular face at the sweet treat staple, ever since she and her husband, Neil, purchased the business in 1975.

Her constant presence came to a sudden end after a freak accident in the driveway of her daughter's home in Wayne. The accident left her husband seriously injured.

"Unfortunately, he thought the car was in park and it was in reverse, so it just led to a chain reaction of events," Humphreys Goldenthal said.

Former employees and customers continue to post a series of Facebook tributes on the shop's page.

Locally and nationally on best ice cream lists, it's a tradition. The family business plans to continue as it gears up for the start of another busy season.

"I think it's a testament to the human spirit, that we pick up, keep going, and that's what she would want us to do.

She'll always be here," Humphreys Goldenthal said.

Humphreys funeral service will be held on Wednesday May 31:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

2530 Stinson Lane

Norristown, PA

Visitation 9-11 a.m.

Service at 11 a.m.

Burial will be at the Philadelphia Memorial Park in Malvern.

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