Hilda Baxt

My mother Hilda (Hinda) Baxt, 89 (ne Samsonovich) has taken her final bow on this stage, known as planet Earth. Mom passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 in her home of 55 years in Brooklyn, NY.

She was born in London, England, District of Stepney, neighborhood,of Whitechapel, in 1928, and lived with her parents, the late Barney and Sonia Samsonovich, and her brothers Bob Simpson, and the late Peter Samsonovich and David Samson, and sisters Kitty, and the late Judy (also known as Lily) Huertas, and Sheila.

She and my dad, the late Jerome Benjamin (Jacob Benyamin(sp)), who died in 1980, were married 26 years.

She was the mother of Jeffrey Adam Baxt and Robert Leslie Baxt, the mother-in-law of Terri Lisa Baxt and Yumi Baxt,

and grandmother to Josie Malissa Baxt and JeromeTiyo Baxt.

My mother, in many ways, had a indomitable spirit; she had survived the London Blitz of 1940 during WWII, in which for a consecutive 58 days, London was bombed either during the day or night with fires consuming many portions of the city. (In the worst single incident, 450 were killed when a bomb destroyed a school being used as an air raid shelter.) Residents sought shelter wherever they could find it - in the case of my mom and her siblings, they were split up and evacuated to Cornwall, the extreme southwestern peninsula of England. She and one of her siblings were placed in a house in the countryside, and she recalls the kindness the daughter of the family showed to them. She came to the U.S. to marry an American soldier – but then changed her mind. But she did not have to return to the UK because she had been accidentally issued a permanent, instead of a temporary, visa.

I could go into great detail about her War years, and immigration to the U.S. but I'd rather she tell you herself. She was featured in a documentary, The Listening Project, some time ago, and can you can view her talks at here http://www.listeningprojectbrooklyn.com/participants/hilda-baxt/

Mom also survived the death of my dad and went back to work after decades as a housewife to become a bookkeeper for a real estate firm. During that time, she also met a host of actors/celebrities (each one has an anecdote to go with it) including,

•Paul Newman

•Dustin Hoffman

•Tyne Daly

•John Forsythe

She was a star in her own right at her second home, the Council Center For Senior Citizens in Brooklyn, N.Y. she spent almost every day there as a volunteer, teaching classes in poetry and appearing in the center's variety shows, plays and poetry recitals. In addition, her photo has appeared in media outlets throughout the globe in recent years.

Mom often said she was amazed that she was able to accomplish all these things she thought she couldn't do; she never sat on the couch, so to speak; she always kept on moving forward and was very self-reliant.

Funeral services will be held Sunday, July 16th at 10 a.m. at I.J. Morris Funeral Directors, 1895 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn N.Y. 11226. Burial will immediately follow upon arrival at Mount Judah Cemetery, 8114 Cypress Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385.

In lieu of flowers, our family asks that you make a donation to mom's second home, the Council Center For Senior Citizens, 1001 Quentin Rd., Brooklyn, NY 11223.