LUDLOW, Vt. – On Aug. 5, 2023, Emily F. Hedal, loving mother of three children, passed away, having lived a rich and full life of 97 years.
Emily was born on Aug. 12, 1926, in Greenville, Miss., to Benjamin and Vera Feld, and grew up in Memphis, Tenn. She had an older sister, Suzanne Salkovitz, who predeceased her in 2010. Emily was married for 66 years to Alfred J. Hedal, who predeceased her on Aug. 5, 2014. She met her husband in New York City, and together they raised their family in Montclair, N.J. Her children are Jane Hedal-Siegel (husband Miles), Laura Plaze (husband Bob), and Joe Hedal (wife Jane Wojick). Emily has four grandchildren, Melanie and Brian Hedal, Rosemary Plaze, and Harrison Siegel, as well as nieces, nephews and cousins. Her undergraduate degree was from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and she had a master’s of science from New York University. She was a biochemist.
Emily had a passion for nature and gardening, and these were some of the interests she pursued during her retirement years with her husband Al at their home in Ludlow, Vt. In addition to her love of family, she loved animals, and especially dogs. She enjoyed music, art, and intellectual pursuits, although her raw musical abilities were not tapped beyond her weekly recorder group at her house in New Jersey (a 1960s thing). She believed in the power of education, and was infused with a strong sense of social justice from her experiences growing up in the South during the 1930s. Those who knew her were keenly aware of her golden heart. Family services are private.