Hildegarde Munch

Remembering Hildy Munch

After 107 years of a richly lived life Hildegarde Lina Marie Wehr Munch (“Hildy” to one and all) passed away peacefully on February 27, 2026, at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville. She leaves behind her an astounding century-plus trail that inspired so many people who watched with growing awe as she aged so stylishly at the Wartburg Center’s Meadowview assisted living facility in Mt. Vernon, and nearby at Christ The Redeemer Episcopal Church in Pelham Manor, where, well-turned-out, coifed and energetic, she attended the 8 a.m. service each Sunday, as well as nearly ten birthday parties as her fame outpaced her age, and where she often ranked as the life, as well as the toast of the party until a couple of years ago when she scaled back.

Looking around herself in the common room at the Wartburg on the brink of her 100th year, she cheerfully confided to an interviewer: “I’m too active for this place.” That same year she channeled some of her excess energy into a new sideline, writing stories for the “Meadowview in View” newsletter. Case in point: a taut profile of 17-year-old staffer Marcia Brigett. “She works as if laundry is an art. Everything is perfect,” gushed Hildy in print.

Hildy was born in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn on December 9, 1918, daughter of Felix George Wehr and Rose Marie Stein Wehr. After graduating from high school she fastened her sights on a career in business, enrolling in the CF Young Secretarial School and then landing a job at the midtown offices of Coca-Cola as an executive secretary, that stretched for more than 20 years and gave her a lifelong devotion to that cola alone. As she proudly put it, “Pepsi will never touch my lips.”

On September 26, 1964, she married Frank P. Munch in St Luke’s Chapel of Trinity Church on Hudson Street in the West Village, her childhood church. Her beloved Frank died in 2009 after 45 years of a loving marriage.

Hildy was a light unto the generations at Christ Church Pelham as well as the Wartburg. She devoted her time and energy to every aspect of Church life, and to helping those in need at retirement homes around the county. For her lifelong commitment to that work, she was the recipient of the Westchester County Volunteer of the Year .Hildy is survived by her nephew Peter Wehr and his wife Nancy.

A visitation will be held at Pelham Funeral Home on Friday, March 13 from 2:00pm -4:00 pm. A funeral service will be held at Christ Church 1415 Pelhamdale Ave, Pelham on Saturday, March 14 at 9:30 am followed by internment at Woodlawn cemetery. All are welcome to a 1:00 pm reception in Hoag Hall.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Christ church atChristchurchpelham.org/Hildy