Hilda Marie Swartz, 95, died Feb. 11, 2026, at Carleton-Willard Village in Bedford, Mass. She was born Jan. 25, 1931, in Greenwood, Del., to Nevin and Esther (Lauver) Bender. She attended Lancaster Mennonite High School in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1949. From 1949 to 1952, she assisted the elderly in the Greenwood community in their homes and worked in a factory. She attended Milford Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Delaware, graduating in 1955 as a Registered Nurse.
Hilda married Merlin Swartz on July 8, 1955.
They lived in Harrisonburg, Va., and then Goshen, Ind., Hilda pursuing her career as a nurse. From 1957 to 1959 they did relief work among Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula and southern Jordan with Mennonite Central Committee as an alternative to military service. After Merlin completed his studies at Goshen Biblical Seminary in 1960, they moved to Cambridge, Mass., where Hilda continued nursing and Merlin pursued graduate studies in Classical Arabic and Islamic Studies at Harvard University, graduating with a Ph.D. in 1967. They lived in Beirut, Lebanon, from 1967 to 1970, where Hilda attended the Beirut College for Women, earning a B.A. in 1968.
Hilda worked for many years as an overnight obstetrical nurse at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. She earned a master of social work degree at Boston University in 1977. From 1982 to 1989 she was director of social services at Carleton-Willard Village, a retirement community in Bedford. Hilda and Merlin spent a sabbatical year in 1989-90 in Egypt, Syria and Turkey. From 1990 to 2005 she was director of social services at North Hill Retirement Community in Needham. Hilda and Merlin were founding members of the Mennonite Congregation of Boston and members of First Parish in Bedford. Hilda was an empathetic and devoted social worker and nurse. She loved singing, church hymns and classical music. She was devoted to peace, equality and justice.
Predeceased by Merlin in 2022, Hilda leaves four children, daughter Sondra (Souhil KassHana), son Daryl, daughter Wanda and son Kenton (Amy Horst); four grandchildren and two great-granddaughters; brother Paul, sister Emma Myers, brother Donald (Judy Harak), and sisters-in-law Anne Yoder and Lourene Godshall. She was preceded in death by three sisters, Lura Benner, Miriam Jantzi and Mildred; and brothers Titus and Nevin.
