Mrs. Dzintra Baidins passed away after a protracted pulmonary illness on August 3, 2022. Mrs. Baidins was born in Latvia in 1937, the only child of Rudolfs and Lidija Vaivars. The threat of Soviet terror forced the family to flee and become displaced persons, DPs, as refugees were called then. After World War 2, they took refuge in displaced person camps run by the Western allies. An immigration sponsorship by a Latvian neighbor who had immigrated to the United States before World War II landed her in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. There she attended high school graduating in 1956. She continued her education at Kutztown Teachers College (now Kutztown University) graduating in 1960. While working, she attended Drexel and earned her master’s in library science in 1968. Dzintra Baidins began her professional career at Warner Middle School in Wilmington, working there from 1960 to 1968. While raising her sons, she occasionally substituted as a librarian in New Castle County public schools. In 1978, her son’s entrance interview morphed into a job interview, and she started working at Archmere Academy part time as a school librarian. She worked there until 2002. In July of 1960, Dzintra married Andrejs Baidins and together had two sons, Juris and Andris (“Anci”). The couple celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary July of 2021. Mrs. Baidins was a long-time secretary of her church council. She also put together aid packages for those in need, whether relatives, friends, or others. Dzintra enjoyed theater, reading literature and history. She raised a rose garden and a vegetable garden. Her favorite hobby was stamp collecting. Her collection included Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. Dzintra is survived by sister-in-law Ilze, and her sons, as well as relatives in Rochester, NY and Latvia. She is predeceased by her husband of 61 years, Dr. Andrejs Baidins. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the Latvian Ev. Lutheran Church of St. John, PO Box 469, Newtown Square, PA 19073.
