Phyllis Webster

Phyllis Smith Webster passed peacefully of natural causes on July 29, 2016 in Chagrin Falls, Ohio at the age of 91. 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. 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 Teddy, 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, Ohio. An 11 AM memorial service is planned for Friday, September 30, 2016 at Center Church in South Hadley, MA. Donations may be made to Center Church, 1 Church Street, South Hadley, MA 01075. Online tributes may be made at www.ForeverMissed.com/phyllis-smith-webster