Frances Allou Gershwin

Frances Allou Gershwin, age 78, of Brookline/Chestnut Hill, MA, died peacefully on May 26th, 2023 due to a stroke that occurred in April 2022. Fran was born in Governors Island (New York City) to Katherine and Charles Allou. She is survived by her husband, Stanley Gershwin, her son Julian Gershwin, her daughter-in-law Erin DeBarros and her sister-in-law and brother-in-law Andrea and Brian Segarra.

Fran graduated in 1966 from Barnard College of Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. She received a Master of Arts in Teaching from Columbia University Teachers College in 1967. She taught high school mathematics in New York and Massachusetts from 1967 to 1976. She was the President of the Winchester Education Association in 1974-1976 and served as a Negotiations Specialist for the Massachusetts Teachers Association in 1975-1976. She changed careers from teaching to law and graduated from Boston College Law School in 1979.

Fran was a Clerk of the Massachusetts Superior Court from 1979 to 1980. She practiced law with Mahoney, Hawkes and Goldings from 1980 until 2001, and then started a private practice. In 2003 she joined Burns and Levinson, and became a partner of the firm in 2004. Fran was recognized as one of the Top Women of Law by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly in 2012. She was a president of New England Women in Real Estate (NEWIRE) in 2002-2003.

Fran was an avid supporter of public parks. She devoted much time and energy to providing and maintaining parks for communities in the Boston area and all over the country. In 1999, she was appointed by the Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (MEPA) to the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) which was established to review the Muddy River Restoration Project. This project has been funded by the Federal government, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Boston, and the Town of Brookline. Fran was instrumental in drafting the key documents that led to the establishment of the Muddy River Restoration Project Maintenance and Management Oversight Committee (MMOC). This committee included a unique government-citizen structure which brought together representatives of all the supporting governments and representatives of the communities near the Muddy River. She became the Chair of the MMOC, and devoted immense amounts of time and energy to leading and inspiring members and volunteers to make it an effective organization for overseeing the project and publicizing its progress. She was the Chair until her stroke in April of 2022.

Fran Gershwin was on the Board of Directors of the City Parks Alliance from 2013 until her stroke. She was on the Advocacy (Co-Chair), Finance (Chair), and Strategic Planning Committees of the Board. She was on the Advisory Council of Massachusetts Conservation Voters from 2020 until her stroke.

In 2011, the Brookline Conservation Commission recognized Fran as the Environmentalist of the Year. She was honored by The Fenway Alliance for "Exceptional Spirit" at the Fenway Alliance Celebrates Exceptional Spirits (FACES) honors ceremony in October 2012. She was the 2018 recipient of the Charles River Watershed Association Citizen Activist Award.

Fran was extraordinary. She was full of joy and she shared that joy with everyone in her vicinity. She was proficient and meticulous in almost everything she did, but she never talked about her accomplishments unless someone else talked about them first. She was confident, optimistic, and funny. She was generous with her time, her money, and her praise. She loved and was loved by everyone she knew. She was a wonderful wife, mother, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law. She will be missed by everyone who knew her. She anonymously added joy to the lives of anyone and everyone who enjoys the parks along the Muddy River as well as all the urban parks that benefited from the City Parks Alliance.

If you would like to show your support for Fran's efforts, please donate to Mass Parks for All and select "In Memory of Fran Gershwin" from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the page. Thank you.