Mary Anne Hyde

Born 101 years ago, Mary Anne died on July 27, 2024 at Meadow Ridge with family at her side. Mary Anne was the beloved wife of Albert Hyde and friend and inspiration to many in her original community of Weston, Connecticut and at Meadow Ridge in Redding, Connecticut. She was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico to Beriah and Anne (Hull) Wall who grew grapefruit and oranges to export to the States. Her early education was at home and at the Academia del Perpetuo Socorro, giving her a lifelong appreciation of two cultures and two languages. She came to the States to attend college at Radcliffe where she met Harvard student Albert Fillmore Hyde II. This was during second world war and Al left college to enlist. Mary Anne followed him and they married in 1942. Their first child, Tony, was born during the war and together Mary Anne and Tony followed Al, crisscrossing the country to many of the eighteen military bases where Al trained as a navigator in the Army Air Force. After the war, Mary Anne and Al had two daughters, Sandra and Deborah. The family settled in Weston, Connecticut.

Just before she turned 100 she told Deb that the most physically difficult thing she had done in her life was going from the middle of the country to Puerto Rico in five days with infant Tony to see her parents during WW II.

Although at times she wished it had been more common for women of her generation to work outside of the home, Mary Anne was a stay-at-home mother who was devoted to her family. She became active in many organizations in Weston. She once said that the three things she was most proud of being part of were founding a nursery school with her friend Polly Hathaway for children Deb’s age, being on the Board of Education in Weston, and helping develop the Workshop for Women, a series of presentations and group discussions in the 1950s by well known authors, including Betty Friedan and Kingsley Amis, to help women assess their roles in current society. 

Al worked in electronic engineering, designing and selling electronic process control instrument systems. When Al founded his own A. F. Hyde Company in the early 1960s, he welcomed Mary Anne as secretary and manager. The receptive listening courses in Rye, New York were meaningful to both of them.

Mary Anne and Al joined the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Weston. For many years they ran a dart and balloons booth at the Church fair. They loved to dance; at the fair, they often won the dance competition.She loved the ocean, feeling that it connected her two homes in Puerto Rico and Connecticut. She often went to Saugatuck Shores to enjoy the waters of Long Island Sound. She always enjoyed writing and appreciated words and written text as a way to reflect upon her thoughts.  About a year after Al passed away in 2001, Mary Anne moved to Meadow Ridge, a blessing for her.  She had many friends there and in the early years she was an active member of the Residents Association Board, serving as secretary and later as president, and founding a Green Committee to encourage environmental conservation.

Some of her poems and stories were published in the Ridge Record; for years she was a member of the Meadow Ridge Writer’s Workshop. She enjoyed playing bridge and joined the Meadow Larks, singing the songs of her era. She often read to those no longer able to read for themselves. Email helped her to stay in touch with family at a distance. She was always interested in world events and local and national politics.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her siblings Beriah Wall and Roger Wall, sister-in-laws Janet Wall, Bunky Wall, Sonia Wall, Condict Hyde, brother-in-law Hugh Hyde, and her beloved daughter Deborah Hyde Baldwin. She is survived by her son Albert “Tony” Hyde, daughter Sandra Jacobi (m. Peter), son-in-law John Baldwin; six grandchildren, Ian Baldwin (Andi Christman), Keith Baldwin (Lyndsey Gore), Lauren Jacobi (Rick Deitch), Tim Jacobi (Marta Nicoli), Christina “Nina” Jacobi (Peter Jaglom), Marianne “Anna” Jacobi Forterra (Jon Forterra); nine great grandchildren, Caryss Baldwin, Zach Baldwin, Beckett Baldwin, Jackson Jacobi, Molly Jacobi, Thomas Jaglom, Madelyn Jaglom, Wesley Forterra, Lillian Forterra; and many nieces and nephews. She was a beloved matriarch.

Her spirit and values will survive her.

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