Marilyn Jarin Hindin, a retired high school teacher, political activist and lifelong Phillies fan, has died at the age of 101
Marilyn Jarin Hindin, 101, of Penn Valley, a retired teacher at Philadelphia High School for Girls, longtime political activist, devoted Jewish community member and lifelong Phillies cheerleader, died Friday, April 5, of heart failure at her home.
Mrs. Hindin was born May 27, 1922, in Philadelphia and followed Phillies games when they were first broadcast on the radio in the 1920s. She met former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at City Hall in the 1950s and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Temple University in the 1960s.
She was a Democratic committee member in Montgomery County for 30 years and was close to former Governor Ed Rendell and other politicians. Over the years, she has gotten to know President Joe Biden and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
She taught history, social studies, and economics at the all-girls school from 1968 to 1988, and former students recall her leading them through the tumultuous 1970s and '80s both in and out of the classroom. She enjoyed the diversity and history of Philadelphia and wrote about the political reform movement of the 1950s for her master's thesis at Temple.
"She was a true intellectual and could talk to anyone about public affairs and life", says her son Ken. "She was a teacher to the very end".
Mrs. Hindin went to countless Phillies games at four different ballparks and had the pleasure of having lunch with Hall of Fame member Mike Schmidt a few years ago. She knew most of the players by name, and when the losses piled up season after season, she liked to say, "They better hire a team psychologist".
Her grandparents and parents owned the Mahlerman Jewish Bookstore in Philadelphia, and Mrs. Hindin helped found Temple Beth Tikvah in Erdenheim in 1958. She later traveled to synagogues and ancient sites around the world and, among other adventures, had Shabbat dinner with a rabbi in Morocco.
She was married twice and told her family, "I was lucky to have loved twice". On her first honeymoon, she traveled to a Phillies game, and with her second husband, she traveled to every continent except Antarctica. "She always had a beautiful smile and a good story to share", a friend wrote in an online message of congratulations.
She sewed her own clothes in the 1930s and '40s, and during World War II she put off going to college to work as a draftswoman for a manufacturing firm. "She had an impressive inner strength and tenacity", said her daughter Diana. Her son said: "She was fearless".
Marilyn Malerman grew up in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia and graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1941. On a blind date, she met Harold Jarin, a senior at the school, and in 1943 they married and had a son, Ken, and daughters Suzanne and Diane.
After the war, the family settled in Oreland, and she was active in the nearby swimming club and in the local Democratic Party. She took her children on memorable trips to the city, the Jersey shore, and elsewhere. She supported women's rights and civil rights and gathered with friends every month for what she called a discussion group.
Her husband died in 1973, and in 1979 she met Eugene Hindin through friends. They were married in 1980 and moved to Penn Valley. Together they traveled the world, had wonderful family dinners and enjoyed spending time with their children and grandchildren. He passed away in 2011.
Mrs. Hindin enjoyed swimming and playing golf. She took ballet and yoga classes and drove until she was 90. "She was a role model for the young women she taught and for her contemporaries", said her daughter Suzanne.
She painted and tended flower gardens, went to the Philadelphia Orchestra, and served on the board of the Settlement School of Music. Until recently, she worked as a poll watcher and regularly scored high on a weekly news quiz in the New York Times.
"Other friends called her 'modest, kind and witty' and noted her 'inquisitive, energetic and cheerful friendliness'".
"The world", said one friend, "was a better place when she came into it.
In addition to her children, Mrs. Hindin is survived by five grandchildren, a great-grandson and other relatives. A granddaughter and a sister died earlier.