FAYE BARONDES
1921-2020
"It Took A Pandemic to Bring Her Down"

Florence ("Faye") Barondes, 98, passed away on April 25, 2020, at her Ashby Ponds assisted
living apartment in Ashburn, Virginia. Her death was caused by Covid-19, the worst pandemic
in modern history.

Faye was born Fanny Berman on September 29, 1921, but was always known as Florence or
Faye. Her parents, Max and Sophie (Levitsky) Berman were proud Americans, who had
emigrated from Eastern Europe years before. Faye was raised in Brooklyn, New York, where
she graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1937, and went on to earn a BA degree at
Brooklyn College in 1941. High school classmates referred to her in the school yearbook as
"that smart girl in geometry" and as "a fellow sufferer in biology." She was the first in her
family to enroll and graduate from college, an unusual accomplishment for a woman during that
period in American history. In the summer of 1940, she met Seymour Barondes at a classical
musical appreciation event in New York. Two years later, they were married and began their
lives together at an apartment located near Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.

Faye was employed by the Federal government in Washington, D.C. until 1948, when Seymour
accepted a civilian position with the U.S. Department of Army in post-war Japan. Faye joined
him in Tokyo, traveling to Japan by prop plane while pregnant with their first child. Months later,
Faye gave birth to their daughter Vivian, and two years later, Anita, at the Tokyo hospital referred
to as the "49th" (actually, St. Luke's or Sei Roka Byouin). After returning to the U.S. in 1951,
the family settled in Baltimore.

In 1957, Faye and Seymour purchased a new house and moved to "the country" in what was then
mostly rural Howard County, Maryland. In Howard County, Faye taught elementary, junior
high and high school students in several county public schools and earned a masters degree in
education. After retiring from teaching, Faye worked for many years as a reference librarian at
the Howard County Library, where she could indulge her life-long love of books. In 1972, Faye
and Seymour bought a vacation townhouse in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, allowing them to
renew their long-held love of the ocean and create wonderful memories with their daughters and
grandchildren.

In retirement, Faye and Seymour traveled around the country and the globe, from U.S. National
Parks to Rome, where as Faye said: "How lucky we were to be able to travel when we were
young and vigorous enough to walk from the Spanish Steps to the Vatican and back under a
warm Italian sun." In their final overseas trip in 2000, Faye and Seymour helped celebrate their
younger daughter's 50th birthday in Naples, Italy, and, on New Years Eve, "watched the most
spectacular fireworks of [their] lives over the Bay of Naples."

In 2008, Faye and Seymour moved to Ashby Ponds in Ashburn, Virginia to be closer to their
daughters. As retirees in Virginia and with more free time, Faye and Seymour settled into a new
life with new friends. For Faye, it was a time to continue enjoying her love of playing cards, at
which she had become very skilled - and very competitive - and to learn Mahjong and other
games. In February 2020, Faye moved to assisted living from the independent living apartment
she had shared with Seymour, who died in 2011 after 69 years of marriage. She was still
playing (and winning at) bridge until all social activities at the facility were halted by the
coronavirus outbreak.

Faye will be especially remembered for her many remarkable personal qualities:a well developed memory and finely-honed intelligence;a fiercely independent streak; a willingness to speak her mind, regardless of the consequences; kindness to those who assisted her in her final years; a genuine love and affection for her children,grandchildren and great grandchildren, and an indomitable spirit and love of life. As one of her sons-in-law quipped: "It took a global pandemic to bring her down."

Faye is the last of her generation, but she is survived by her two daughters (Vivian and Anita);
their spouses (Brad Simpson and Jim Sholly); three grandchildren (Aaron Phillips, Benjamin
Phillips and Dara Phillips Parker); three great grandchildren (Carson, David Seymour and Neil)
and seventeen nieces and nephews.

In light of Covid-19 social distancing, a gathering in memory of Faye Barondes will not be held
until we are able to gather together safely. If interested, contributions can be made to Capital
Caring Hospice of Virginia, https://www.capitalcaring.org/get-involved/donate/,whose brave and
kind nurse made it possible for Faye's daughters to see her and express their love (and that of
others whose lives she had touched) to her one last time.