Deborah Hyde Baldwin

Deborah Hyde Baldwin

On the morning of Friday May 5th, 2023, Deborah Hyde Baldwin passed away peacefully at age 73, due to recurrent cancer of the parotid gland. During her final days she was surrounded by loved ones.

Daughter of Al and Mary Anne Hyde, Deb grew up in New England and attended Concord Academy, Radcliffe and, after focusing on raising her sons, later went back to Harvard to get her EdD. She developed lifelong friends from school and meaningful relationships through her career. She studied psychology and ultimately trained as a psychoanalyst, spending her career as a caregiving therapist.

Her immediate family remembers her as a Lady MacGyver, a brilliant self-reliant problem solver who liked to fix things. She often engineered accommodations for others as she lovingly did for her husband, John, to help adapt to his MS symptoms. As a child she took apart her family’s piano then successfully reassembled it to fix a stuck key, proving her cleverness at an early age.

Deb was an avid reader and was a founding member of a cherished women’s book group that met for many years. Sharing her Hyde family’s love of words, she enjoyed crossword puzzles, always in the company of family and friends to share in the challenge. She loved the beach, learning to sail and returning to the ocean throughout her life. She enjoyed many family trips to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and led annual church-based women’s retreats to Cape Cod.

She was passionate about protecting the future of our world for her grandchildren, pouring her time and energy into organizations that promote environmental sustainability. She was a founding member and leader of the Environmental Ministry Team at her church. She proudly marched at many demonstrations advocating for women’s rights and the environment.

She is survived by her husband of 52 years, John Baldwin, her son Ian Baldwin and partner Andrea Christman, her son Keith Baldwin and partner Lyndsey Gore, and her beloved grandchildren Caryss Baldwin, Zachary Baldwin, and Beckett Baldwin. Deb is also survived by her mother Mary Anne Hyde, her brother Albert Anthony (Tony) Hyde, and her sister Sandra Hyde Jacobi. 

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, May 28th at 3:00 pm at the Congregational Church of Needham with a reception to follow. For those who are unable to attend in person, here is the memorial service Zoom link (http://zoom.us/j/907548568)

 Her sister Sandra composed a tribute video which can be "a tribute video which can be viewed online: https://vimeo.com/813746602  with the password ‘Deb’.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to either of these environmental causes which Deb felt passionately about. Ceres is an environmental non-profit working towards a just and sustainable future.  (https://www.ceres.org/get-involved)

As part of Deb’s work with the Environmental Ministry Team at the Congregational Church of Needham, she advocated for the adoption of green energy, which led to establishing a fund to install solar panels. All donations made to the church in Deborah Baldwin’s name will support this effort. (https://secure.myvanco.com/L-Z51P/campaign/C-12DKJ)

A loving network of extended family and cherished friends hold Deb’s memory in their hearts.