Babette Maccoby

1923 - 2019

Babette Frank Maccoby

Babette Frank Maccoby, age 96, passed away peacefully on January 15, 2019 in Oakland. Her daughter and son were at her side.
Babette and her husband, Professor Herbert Maccoby, lived in Berkeley for 29 years, retiring there in 1985. They enjoyed going on family trips to the upper valley of Yosemite National Park, Carmel and Monterey. In 2003 they moved to a senior living community in Oakland, where Babette was active on the Welcome Committee.
Babette was born on January 8, 1923 in Delaware, Ohio. She graduated in 1944 from Wellesley College, where she majored in English Literature and minored in Education. She participated in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities, including Radio Acting and Announcing for the Wellesley College Broadcasting System, acting in student theatre productions, and organizing dances. She served on the Christian Association Community Service Committee and the Christian Association Interfaith Council, and was Russian War Relief Representative for the War Board and Dormitory Fire Captain and Air Raid Warden.
After college Babette worked as Assistant to the Dean of Women at Denison University and then enrolled in Teachers College of Columbia University, where she earned her Master's Degree in Counseling and Student Personnel Administration in 1947. During graduate school she met Herb, a Columbia PhD candidate. They married in 1950 and moved to Manhattan, Kansas where he began his career as a professor and she joined the Kansas State Counseling Center as its first woman counselor. Babette was a member of the American Association of University Women, the National Association of Deans of Women, Kappa Delti Pi International Honor Society in Education, Pi Lambda Theta, and the Wellesley College Alumnae Association.
Following the birth of their first child in 1953, Babette left professional life so she could focus all of her attention on her growing family. Babette and Herb raised their three children in Berkeley, Pittsburgh, PA and Bangor, ME. She was an excellent cook and enjoyed giving intimate dinner parties and entertaining. In every community where they lived, Babette was active in the League of Women Voters, the local Wellesley Club, and the university's Women and Faculty Wives organizations.
Babette's abiding interest in people and her desire to help others reach the fullest potential they were capable of in order to live rich and meaningful lives was a deeply held personal philosophy. It infused her marriage, homemaking, and parenting.
Babette is survived by her daughter Gina Maccoby of Chappaqua, NY, her son Matthew Frank Maccoby of Santa Monica, CA, seven grandchildren, and a great-grandson. Her husband Herb predeceased her, as did her eldest son Daniel of Walton-on-Thames, England. Condolences may be expressed by email to GM@maccobylit.com or matthew.maccoby@arnoldporter.com.