September 27, 2009
The Al-Bustan community is saddened by the passing of Hilda Barakat after her year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.
I attended her funeral service yesterday. It was a very sad day with a swelling of emotions and tears, but a beautiful service that honored her life and brought together so many family and friends. It was especially moving to see each of her grandchildren get up to speak so dearly of their “tatti.” She was truly an amazing, warm, giving woman whom I will always remember fondly, with much admiration and respect.
Hilda and her immediate family members have been a part of Al-Bustan since the formation of the organization. I met Hilda after first speaking with her husband, Adel Barakat in early 2002. I was about to launch our first summer camp and Adel was immediately supportive of the idea and helped connect me with other Arabs in the Philadelphia area. Hilda and Adel both came to our first camp performance and brought with them their daughter Lamia and her three daughters. . . .and that was the beginning of a wonderful ongoing relationship with the Barakat family. Lamia has been serving on the Board of Directors and given much of her time and professional expertise to the organization’s development and programming; her daughters Keira, Laila and Reema have been campers for the past 4 years – always inspiring the teachers and staff with their creativity; and her brother Rami has provided us with professional advice, and his children Sabrina and Gabriel have been a joy to have at camp.
There is something truly special about this family. Since that first phone call I made to Adel more than seven years ago, they have been unwavering in their support and friendship of Al-Bustan, always welcoming and always giving.
The most special memory is from July 2008, when Hilda agreed to come to camp and share her stories of Palestine with all of our campers. She spent a whole day at camp, gracefully moving from classroom to classroom in her elegant dress of Palestininan tatreez, and sparking everyone’s interest as she wove her stories of childhood and parenthood in Jerusalem, Cairo, and Pennsylvania. Her stories were the seeds of drama scenes about Palestinian culture that campers then created and presented in a performance at the end of camp.
Here is a glimpse of that special day we had at Al-Bustan Camp with Hilda Barakat. . .
I invite you to share any story you have about Hilda and her family by adding your comments and stories in the section below.
Hazami Sayed
Executive Director
Obituary in The West Chester
Hilda Daisy (Batarseh) Barakat, 69, of West Chester, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.
She was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in 1940 and was the daughter of the late Hannah and Hilaneh (Amireh) Batarseh. In 1949, she went with her family to Cairo, Egypt. Hilda received her degree in teaching from Notre Dame de l’Apparition and spent two years teaching math. She met her husband, Adel, through scouting. After immigrating to the United States, she served as business manager for her husband’s orthopedic practice.
Always active, Hilda received a degree in interior design, taught elementary school art and committed to volunteer work. In addition, she played bridge and tennis and enjoyed reading, needlework and the arts. Above all, she dedicated her time to her family. Hilda was peaceful, loving and positive throughout her life, inspiring her family to do the same.
She is survived by her husband, Adel Barakat; one daughter, Lamia Barakat; one son, Rami Barakat; one son-in-law, Brad Norford; one daughter-in-law, Ginny Barakat; five grandchildren, Keira, Sabrina, Gabriel, Reema and Laila; and four brothers, Gabriel, Victor, Samir and Nabil Batarseh.
7 Comments
Dear Barakat Family,
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Mrs. Hilda Barakat was an amazing woman who projected kindness with every word she said. She touched the souls of many with her giving heart and resilient spirit. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet and listen to the stories of this wonderful human being. Your family is a powerful collective and I wish you all strength in these difficult times.
My thoughts and love are always with you.
Regards,
Nahid Abunama-Elgadi
Dear Lamia, Keira, Laila and Reema and all the wonderful Barakat family:
I am so so sorry to hear of Mrs. Barakat’s passing. One of my favorite memories from teaching at Al-Bustan camp were the days she spent in my classes, sharing her stories of her life from Palestine to the U.S. Her sense of humor, storytelling abilities, honesty and openness about what she survived were inspiring and deeply moving to my students. Her life inspired several of the scenes we performed at last year’s camp, and even the most reticent teens were moved to tears by what they heard in her voice and memories.
My heart goes out to your whole family with a memory of the strength, love, warmth and spirit that Mrs. Barakat embodied for us all.
Sending you all healing energy in this difficult time,
Leila
My sister Hilda has joined our mother Helen;now they are both in heaven . Hilda enjoyed life to the utmost , and in so doing she enriched the lives of her family and everybody arround her . She will never be forgotten , and will always be rememberred by all the hearts she touched .
Hilda’s brother wrote; Hilda “will never be forgotten , and will always be rememberred by all the hearts she touched”, How true. Hilda’s simplicity, grace and creativity, her openness and kindness touched us deeply from the first time we met. Jim, my husband, and I met Adel and Hilda in 2000 at the exhibition “Ahlan wa Sahlan! Welcome to our Home! Philadelphia’s Arab Americans” at the Balch Institute in Philadelphia. Adel ‘s work was exhibited, and Hilda, so humble, did not even mention that she is also an artist. We discovered her talent at our first visit to their lovely home. A great talent indeed and so diverse.
Always giving and in so many different ways, Hilda, you live in our hearts and in our thoughts and will always be there.
Adel, we think of you always and pray that you find peace and serenity and that you will always be surrounded by your loving family and friends.
Thank you Hazami for giving us the chance to share some of our thoughts. We are deeply grateful to you.
I am so sorry to hear this sad news about Mrs. Barakat, I knew her & Dr. Adel through the Philadelphia ADC chapter; they were an active board members along with their daughter Lamia.
They were so full of energy & knowledge they couldn’t do enough to help… Hilda was sweet & elegant lady who expressed her thoughts and opinions in way that got everyone’s attention, she was proud of her heritage, her family & her community!
Once I had met Hilda at one of the Arab American activities here in Philadelphia years after they had resigned from the board due to their travel, we were talking about our kids & I had mentioned that my son is planning to do an internship in Bethlehem (her town) for the summer; she quickly interrupted me and offered me her brother’s phone number just in case my son needed help while being there … this is the Hilda I know & sure to miss!
My deepest sympathy to her family & may her memory be eternal,
???? ??????
I really miss my Tati, she was a gentle and kind grandmother. She thought family was everything thats why I saw my family every week. She cared about everyone, never forgeting anything. I miss her so much, she called me everyday to see how I was doing. If everyone in the entire world met her, then she would have more than a million friends. We all love you Tati, the world misses you…. Love Sabrina
Tati always loved the world and cheered everyone up all the time, reassuring them that everything would turn out fine and giving them the best hug. She always wore a smile. Everytime I saw her, she would tell me wonderful stories from her childhood and help me with my French and Arabic. Her calming voice will always remain in all of her friend’s and family’s minds. Now, we all miss our Tati and become sad when we look at pictures of her, but we will always remember her. We’ll miss you, Tati. Reema and Keira