Obituaries

BARON

Edith (Kolsky) Baron, 92, of North Branford, formerly of Meriden, Stony Creek and Evergreen Woods, Conn., died Nov. 6, 2013. Born Dec. 30, 1920, she was raised in Lawrence and Malden, Mass. She was the daughter of immigrants Louis and Gertrude Kolsky. Edith received her RN from Mt. Auburn Hospital School of Nursing in Cambridge, Mass., in May 1942. She enlisted in the U.S. Army and was a First Lieutenant until December 1945. She served in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines. She was leaving Manila on a ship home to the U.S. when she saw fireworks coming from the harbor, and she knew that World War II was over. Paul and Edith Baron became friends in their 20s in Boston and Cambridge. They were married in 1946 and for a time lived in Meriden. In the 1960s she was a community activist in diverse groups, and during the Black civil-rights revolution she was president of the Meriden/Wallingford NAACP for five and a half years. At age 55, she graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University, where she received an award in sociology. She worked at the New Haven Health Agency, and was then hired by Eastern to be the administrator of one of President Johnson’s Great Society programs, which provided college tuition and books at no cost to qualified poor candidates. She was a member of Temple B’nai Abraham in Meriden for 60 years and Temple Beth Tikva in Madison for over 20 years. She was an active member of the League of Women Voters. Edith is survived by her husband of 67 years, Paul Baron, and their children, Michael and his wife Ruth Magraw (and their children, Annie, Danny, and Sarah and her husband Jeremy Kahan and their daughter Johanna); Dan and his partner Arthur Gaffin; Nina and her husband Alan Einhorn (and their children, Ariel, Leila, and Emily and her husband Jeff Wong); and Edith’s sister, Estelle Kosofsky. The funeral was held on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Temple B’nai Abraham in Meriden. Burial in B’nai Abraham Cemetery was with military honors. Arrangements under the direction of John J. Ferry & Sons Funeral Home, 88 E. Main St., Meriden, Conn. 06450. Memorial donations may be made to any progressive organization of your choice. For online condolences and directions please visit www.jferryfh.com.

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