Obituary
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Minna Passman at the age of 94. Minna led an exemplary life and was loved by her entire family. Born a triplet, Minna and her siblings were named the Guinness Book’s oldest living triplets (mixed) in 2020. Minna is predeceased by her husband, Richard Passman, with whom she was married for 70 years. For the past two years, Minna resided at Sunrise – Chevy Chase, Maryland, where COVID-19 presented a challenging and difficult time. Her three sons, Henry, Donald, and Bill, were devoted to her and visited with her as much as possible.
Minna was born in February, 1927 to Belle and David Hocky in New York, NY. As a young girl, Minna grew up in a household filled with love and joy. Her older sister, Addie, adored her and she had strong and loving life-long relationships with her brother, Joe, and her identical sister, Betty. A lifelong learner, Minna graduated from City College, NY. Following her graduation, she married the love of her life, Dick Passman, and enjoyed 70 years of marriage until his passing in 2020.
Minna was a great wife and mother, starting her family in Buffalo NY, then moving to the Philadelphia area, settling in Broomall, PA. She was an active member of her children’s school PTA and loved working at the school library. With three growing boys, Minna was always busy cooking and baking and became quite a gourmet chef. If you behaved or helped you would get to lick the spatula and mixer. She was also a talented seamstress, making her own clothes, embroidering tablecloths and always knitting. There were hats, sweaters and afghans to go around, even one for beloved Patches.
Minna and Dick travelled extensively and she had an amazing ability to connect with strangers and become lifelong friends after only a short meeting. When the family moved to Bethesda MD, Minna began her career as a travel agent where she fine-tuned her amazing knowledge of destinations as well as her social skills to guide clients. Minna often accompanied Dick on international business trips to Europe and Asia. They attended key events of the Apollo space program including both the launch and landing party of Apollo-11. Minna found great satisfaction in getting autographs of astronauts, cosmonauts and celebrities!
In retirement, Minna and Dick moved to Chevy Chase and wintered in The Villages, Florida where they continued to enjoy golf together. Minna, volunteered at Suburban Hospital for years, helping comfort visitors anxious to get information from the medical staff. Later they moved full time to an Independent Living facility in the same community. In 2020, they decided to return to Maryland to be closer to family. Unfortunately, the pandemic occurred right around this time and Dick passed suddenly from complications of COVID-19.
She is survived by her sister, Betty Woolf (husband Milt), Joe Hocky (late wife Fay), son Hap Passman (Nancy), son Donald Passman (Bonnie), son Bill Passman (Emily), Grandchildren Zack, Karina, Natalie, Danny, Leah, Mark, Rachel, Leo, Adam, Danielle, Brandon, Jeffrey, Natalie, and Great grandchildren Guillermo, Hilda, Merrick, Bennett, Ellis, Teddy, Oscar, Audrey, Annabelle, and Bradley. She is predeceased by her sister Addie and brother-in-law Harold Gabel.
Her life was an inspiration to the entire Hocky-Silberling-Passman family and her memory will be a source of strength for all of them. The family has requested that remembrances be made in the form of contributions to WINnyc.org.
Ruth Davis and Bill Drew
-Billy