Hilda Handy
Age - 93
November 30, 2023
Hilda Swartz Handy, a woman whose life journey spanned continents and hearts, bid adieu to this world on November 26, 2023. Born in the picturesque town of Kayl, Luxembourg, on January 30, 1930, she was the daughter of Sophie Laux Swartz and Maury Swartz. After a Depression-era childhood, Hilda's resilience was further forged during the challenging years of the Nazi occupation of Luxembourg from 1940 to 1945, a chapter that altered the trajectory of her life. With her father and brother having fled Luxembourg in 1939 - to avoid conscription in the German army or even worse fates - Hilda spent those tumultuous years with her mom. At the end of the war, Hilda answered a knock on her door to find her older brother, Eugene Swartz, wearing an American military uniform. Eugene had been part of the liberating forces. In 1948, alongside her mother, she embarked on a transatlantic adventure to reunite with her father and Eugene in the United States, settling in Silver Spring, Maryland. In the 1950s, Hilda directed the Student Visitor Program at the National Catholic Welfare Conference in Washington, D. C. The program brought students from Europe and Latin America to the United States for a year of high school study. With a passion for nurturing young minds and fostering cultural exchange, the woman affectionately called "Goldilocks" (for her wavy blonde hair) changed lives and built friendships that would span all her years. On a beautiful Maryland day in September 1956, Hilda married the love of her life, Robert H. Handy, a native of Washington, D. C. Four children entered their lives over the next 15 years: Michele Marie, the late Paul Leslie, Geoffrey Lloyd, and Colette Marie. The family settled in Olney, Maryland. Hilda was a devoted mother. She took the kids to the pool every summer, drove them to piano or dance lessons every week, and cooked for them every night. She also made them weed the lawn on the hottest of summer days. Most evenings, Mom would be in her recliner in the family room, with a cat on her lap and her kids all around, watching the likes of "The Love Boat" and "Happy Days" or conning them into losing quarters to her in games of rummy. She had a special talent for misstating American idiomatic phrases. Two of her beloved classics (to her kids, anyway) were, "That's water over the bridge," and, "Stop running around like a chicken with its leg cut off. " She had an greater talent for needlework. She made afghans, rugs, scarves, and more, and her needlepoint masterpieces graced the family home - and other people's homes, too. Despite the vast ocean that separated her from her Luxembourg roots, Hilda never lost touch with her cherished friends from her childhood. Her heart remained intertwined with the memories of her homeland, and she often made pilgrimages back for joyful reunions and to relive the tales of yesteryears. In 1995, Hilda and Robert settled into the Bristol Village retirement community in Waverly, Ohio, enjoying a well-deserved chapter of their lives together. The two traveled widely for more than a decade, and Hilda added on trips of her own to her beloved Luxembourg. Hilda's later retirement years were marked by family visits; scrapbooking and needlework; and adding to her extensive collections (including spoons, plates, magnets, and snowmen). In her wake, she leaves behind a legacy of love and laughter and a penchant for "telling it like it is. " She is survived by her children, Michele, Geoff, and Colette; and her grandchildren, Alexander Flinn, Quentin Flinn, and Daniel, David, Devin, and Deanna Handy. In lieu of flowers, Hilda's family requests that donations be made to the Fund for Education Abroad, to continue her legacy of supporting international educational opportunities for the next generation. https://fundforeducationabroad. org/A celebration of Hilda's life will be held in Bethesda, Maryland, in Spring 2024, where friends and family will gather to share stories, laugh together, and raise a toast to a remarkable woman who graced our lives with an unfiltered tongue and an irrepressible spirit. www. boyerfuneral. comShow more
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