Obituary for Mathilde R. "Til" van Perlstein (de Kadt)
Mathilde Rica van Perlstein
Mathilde (Til) Rica van Perlstein-de Kadt passed away on Tuesday, December 21, 2021. She was 97. A resident of Pleasantville for 63 years, Til was born in The Netherlands in Heemstede on November 29, 1924 and raised in Bloomendaal before emigrating to the United States to escape Nazi occupation. She is predeceased by her parents, Isedore Emanuel de Kadt and Betsy Arnolda de Kadt-de Jong, her sister, Josephine Hartog-de Kadt, her brother, Pieter de Kadt, and her husband, Hugo van Perlstein.
Til went to the Birch Wathen School in Manhattan. She furthered her education with a degree in Biology from Hobart and William Smith College in 1946. After graduation she became a medical assistant in doctor and dental offices.
Til met her future husband through her mother, who had met him on a transatlantic cruise and bonded over their shared hometown, Arnhem. They were married in 1955 at the Plaza Hotel. They lived in Hartsdale for three years and then moved to Pleasantville, New York, where they raised their two daughters, Monique and Michelle, on “The Hill.” Til was an active parent in her children’s education and extracurricular activities. She also enjoyed competitive Round Robin Bridge, bowling, and participating in Girl Scouting, the Contemporary Club and the Women’s Club. Later in life, she worked in the Parts Division of the Savin Business Machine Company. She also liked to play competitive dominoes with her friends and her three grandchildren, Philip, Benjamin, and Sara Stadulis.
After her husband retired, they lived six months each year in Amsterdam and Thun, Switzerland. They traveled the world over with the many friends that they made through Rotary International.
At age 15, Til and her family escaped Nazi occupation by traveling through France and Spain to leave on the Quanza, a ship departing from Lisbon, Portugal to the United States. In 2017, a descendant of those who escaped with the de Kadt family reached out to Til to ask about her visa to Portugal. We now know today that Til and her entire family were saved by the Portuguese Diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes from his signature on her visa. Before her passing, Til made a video that can be seen on the Sousa Mendes Foundation website detailing her family’s escape.
The family will have a graveside service at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York in the spring of 2022 or when everyone can gather outside.
In lieu of flowers, kindly make donations to The Mount Pleasant Public Library at 350 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570, The Village of Pleasantville Clinton Street Center (Senior Center) at 1A Clinton Street, Pleasantville, NY 10570, or to the charity of your choice.
Mathilde (Til) Rica van Perlstein-de Kadt passed away on Tuesday, December 21, 2021. She was 97. A resident of Pleasantville for 63 years, Til was born in The Netherlands in Heemstede on November 29, 1924 and raised in Bloomendaal before emigrating to the United States to escape Nazi occupation. She is predeceased by her parents, Isedore Emanuel de Kadt and Betsy Arnolda de Kadt-de Jong, her sister, Josephine Hartog-de Kadt, her brother, Pieter de Kadt, and her husband, Hugo van Perlstein.
Til went to the Birch Wathen School in Manhattan. She furthered her education with a degree in Biology from Hobart and William Smith College in 1946. After graduation she became a medical assistant in doctor and dental offices.
Til met her future husband through her mother, who had met him on a transatlantic cruise and bonded over their shared hometown, Arnhem. They were married in 1955 at the Plaza Hotel. They lived in Hartsdale for three years and then moved to Pleasantville, New York, where they raised their two daughters, Monique and Michelle, on “The Hill.” Til was an active parent in her children’s education and extracurricular activities. She also enjoyed competitive Round Robin Bridge, bowling, and participating in Girl Scouting, the Contemporary Club and the Women’s Club. Later in life, she worked in the Parts Division of the Savin Business Machine Company. She also liked to play competitive dominoes with her friends and her three grandchildren, Philip, Benjamin, and Sara Stadulis.
After her husband retired, they lived six months each year in Amsterdam and Thun, Switzerland. They traveled the world over with the many friends that they made through Rotary International.
At age 15, Til and her family escaped Nazi occupation by traveling through France and Spain to leave on the Quanza, a ship departing from Lisbon, Portugal to the United States. In 2017, a descendant of those who escaped with the de Kadt family reached out to Til to ask about her visa to Portugal. We now know today that Til and her entire family were saved by the Portuguese Diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes from his signature on her visa. Before her passing, Til made a video that can be seen on the Sousa Mendes Foundation website detailing her family’s escape.
The family will have a graveside service at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York in the spring of 2022 or when everyone can gather outside.
In lieu of flowers, kindly make donations to The Mount Pleasant Public Library at 350 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570, The Village of Pleasantville Clinton Street Center (Senior Center) at 1A Clinton Street, Pleasantville, NY 10570, or to the charity of your choice.