Phyllis Smith Webster

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio - Phyllis Smith Webster, 91, passed peacefully July 29, 2016, of natural causes in Chagrin Falls.

The youngest daughter of Raymond and Ethel (Cranson) Smith, Phyllis was born in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where she attended the public schools. She entered Mount Holyoke College on scholarship as an honor student. A gifted vocalist, her interest in music prompted her to transfer to the Springfield Conservatory of Music.

After graduation she became Supervisor of Music in the Belchertown, East Longmeadow, Wilbraham and Hampden, Massachusetts, school districts.

Phyllis and her sisters, Adah and Esther, sang as a trio accompanied on the piano by their eldest sister, Ruth. The Smith sisters performed on local radio stations and were featured with Bill Tatro's band at the Sheraton Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts. In later years, called upon at family weddings for impromptu performances, the Smith sisters delighted family and friends with their talents. Not only did they make great music together, the four sisters were extremely close throughout their lives.

In 1947 she met Rev. John P. Webster on a blind date, and they married three months later. They served parishes in Wilton, Maine, and West Hartford, Connecticut. In their retirement years, John and Phyllis lived in Williamsburg and South Hadley, Massachusetts.

In the 1980's, Mrs. Webster became a playwright associated with The Miniature Theatre of Chester. Her play John and Tedd, about John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt, was performed in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Ohio. In 2003, she published Hilltown, a historic fiction novel set in the Pre-Civil War Pioneer Valley.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her husband John P. Webster, daughter Joan Elizabeth, sisters Ruth Tower, Adah Carey and Esther Galbraith and nephew Alan Tower.

She is survived by her daughter Deborah Caimi and her husband Paul, and two grandsons, Matthew and Anthony John Caimi of Chagrin Falls.

A memorial service is planned for Friday, Sept. 30, at 11 a.m. at Center Church in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

Donations may be made to Center Church, 1 Church St., South Hadley, MA 01075. Online tributes may be made at www.ForeverMissed.com/phyllis-smith-webster.

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