Nancy H. Baldwin

Nancy H. Baldwin

Rochester, NY – Nancy Eleanor (Hall) Baldwin passed away on October 10, 2022, at the age of 97. Nancy was the daughter of the late Rev. Raymond Avery Hall, Sr. and Anna (Polly) French Hall of Charlotte and Burlington, VT, and was born in Burlington on April 16, 1925. Nancy attended the Charlotte Grammar School, the Lincoln School in New York city, Burlington High School, and the University of Vermont. During the summer of 1941 she met her future husband, the late Rev. Kenneth R. Baldwin of Fayetteville, NY, who was working on his cousin’s farm in Charlotte. Following their first meeting at a social event for the Charlotte Congregational Church’s Youth Group, they commenced a long courtship which lasted through World War II and was sustained by much letter writing. They married on September 4, 1948, in the same church where they had met. Nancy and Ken had a wonderful life together. They made their first home together in Fayetteville, NY, where Ken completed his bachelor’s degree before entering into the ministry. Throughout their seventy years together, Ken and Nancy travelled extensively. This included a trip across Europe following the war during which they worked to rebuild war-torn communities. They lived in Edinburgh, Scotland for a year while Ken took theology courses. Following Ken’s ordination in 1953, they lived in Flushing, NY, and their son Stuart was born in October of 1953. Ten years later they welcomed twin girls Amy and Anne to the family.  The family lived in several places including Liberty, NY, Higganum CT, Oneonta, NY, and Fairport, NY. Nancy was active in all the churches she and Ken served and continued to be active even following Ken’s retirement, most recently at the Oneonta, NY, First United Methodist Church and the Fairport, NY, United Methodist Church. Nancy also worked as an assistant librarian at both the East Haddam, CT, and Liberty, NY, Libraries and served as an interpreter at the Hanford Mills Museum in East Meredith, NY.  Nancy was kind and giving and was known for her surprising wit and a smile that could light up a room. She loved to host gatherings and often invited friends over to celebrate Epiphany where she always made sure a guest found the coin hidden in her homemade “Three Kings” cake. She was generally calm and amenable but was known to put her “foot down” on occasion, such as outlawing smoking during church meetings held in the parsonage and forbidding her adult children to go anywhere near the edge of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. Although a devotee of non-violence in all things, she passed on her love of murder mysteries to her children. Nancy enjoyed music, particularly great organ music. She wrote delightful poetry for special occasions. Nancy and Ken were wonderful dancers and even into their nineties were often applauded when they took to the dance floor. They continued to travel and made additional trips to Europe, Scandinavia, Alaska and, for their 50th anniversary, to Bermuda.

Nancy is predeceased by her parents, her sister Jean and brother-in-law John Spasyk, her brother Raymond Avery Hall, Jr., and her husband Rev. Kenneth R. Baldwin. She is survived by loving son Stuart and his wife Harriet (Cone) Baldwin, daughter Amy and her husband Douglas Berry, daughter Anne Baldwin, sister-in-law Andrea Rogers, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on July 8, 2023, at  1:00 PM  at  the Charlotte, VT, Congregational Church UCC, followed by an interment service at the adjacent Grandview Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Nancy’s memory to the Charlotte, VT, Congregational Church, the University of Vermont, or the Fairport, NY, United Methodist Church.

To live stream her Memorial Service, please copy and paste this link in your browser:  https://youtube.com/live/_hQnoVhnw1U?feature=share

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