Henrietta Dilyock

Henrietta Dilyock 1918 – 2024

Henrietta Dilyock (nee Segel) 106 years, of Chestnut Hill, formerly of Melrose and Harwich passed away, peacefully early on Saturday morning, September 28, 2024.   Daughter of Hilda (Baker) Segel and Abraham Segel, she was predeceased by her husband of 45 years, Joseph P. Dilyock, and her second husband William Cohen.  Henrietta was a strong, independent woman who had careers in business and finance.

Henrietta lost her father in 1933 when she was 15 years old at the height of the depression. She graduated with honors from Cambridge High and Latin School in 1936. At that time, honors students in Cambridge were given the opportunity to attend Radcliffe or Harvard for free as day students. Henrietta always regretted that she was unable to take advantage of this opportunity because she had to go to work to support her family.

When she fell in love and married Joe Dilyock, she found a wonderful warm family. Their cousins club, the Lebowitz Family Circle, was central to their social life.  Also central, was the Melrose Jewish Community Center that later became Temple Beth Shalom in Melrose.  There they cultivated life-long friendships.

Henrietta was a terrific cook and loved entertaining and hosting dinners for family and friends. She and Joe cultivated a warm welcoming home.  She was a disciple of Julia Child and loved tackling Julia’s recipes on the weekends.

Henrietta was a strong advocate for volunteerism, working for the Red Cross in Boston during WWII. She also volunteered six evenings a week as part of a network of plane spotters and trackers in Boston. On Sunday mornings, she served breakfast and chatted with soldiers waiting to be shipped overseas at the USO canteen in Boston.  Following retirement, she volunteered for the National Park Service in Boston and the Newton Free Library, Newton.  She greatly enjoyed the years she volunteered at the Newton Library and was sorry that she was forced to retire when her eyesight began to fail. Henrietta was often invited to share stories with other volunteers and staff at the library who were interested in what life was like in “the old days.”  She often said jokingly, “I can really say whatever I want about the early days because there is no one left to refute me.”

With an avid interest in genealogy, her duties at the Red Cross, during and immediately following the war, were to help immigrants from Europe try to locate family members in the U.S. Family was always extremely important to Henrietta. She spent many years, working on her own family tree and weeks before she passed away, she was still working with a volunteer from Hebrew Senior Life to uncover more information about her grandfather’s life in South Africa.

She and her husband Joe enjoyed many years of Cape Cod life.  They had a cottage in West Dennis and later built a home in Harwich where they lived in early retirement. They delighted in welcoming family and friends for weekends at the beach. Once Joe began having health problems, they moved to Chestnut Hill but enjoyed winters in Coronado, CA.  She and Joe loved travel and meeting people from across the U.S. and in other parts of the world.

When Henrietta married Bill Cohen, his grandson Daniel Ragussis became part of her family, and she cherished their relationship.

Henrietta leaves her devoted cousin Karen Smolens; her nephew, Dr. Stephen Schoenbaum and his wife Sylvia; grandnieces Dr. Amy Schoenbaum and Abigail Cox, and Abby’s husband Chad, as well as other family and friends. A graveside service will be held at Sharon Memorial Park on Sunday, October 6 at 12:45 PM.  A reception/shiva in her apartment building will follow the burial from 2:30-4:30 PM. There is some parking in front of the building and additional guest parking in the back of the building on the far left.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Henrietta’s memory may be made to the charity of your choice.