Joan Webster

1932 - 2020

Joan Webster, 88

Worcester - Joan Webster, a tireless defender of human and civil rights and mother of three, died peacefully of cancer June 19 surrounded by family. A resident of Worcester, MA, she was 88.

Throughout her professional and volunteer career, she had an indelible impact on countless people, including many who never met her. Most recently, she worked for 11 years as the administrator for the now-defunct Human Relations Department of the Town of Framingham. In that position, Joan had countless roles, including serving as the town's fair housing officer, overseeing ADA compliance, and mediating conflicts involving racism and homophobia.

Her passion for mediation led to post-retirement involvement as an organizer, trainer, and mediator, providing services in Worcester courts. For years, she was a regular volunteer at dance, theater, and music performances at Mechanics Hall and the Hanover Theatre. A lifelong artist and advocate of the arts, she was a dedicated and accomplished ballroom dancer.

Extremely active in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, she participated in a host of committees, projects, and education programs, most notably as a founding member of the FUUtures Team, anti-racism and accessibilities efforts, and serving on the Committee on Ministry.

Active throughout her life in civil rights, justice, and peace movements, she devoted decades to causes such as passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, free speech, anti-racism, and women's rights. Joan's commitment led to her to become the first woman to serve as president of the ACLU Vermont board of trustees and serving on the Vermont State Advisory Committee of the US Commission on Civil Rights, where she was vice chair.

As a faculty member in the Goddard Experimental Program in Further Education, Goddard College's novel program for working adults, Joan taught a wide range of classes, from child development, to theater and performance, and the First Amendment. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she served on the Goddard College Board of Trustees.

In her days in Cortland, NY, she was a founding officer of Citizens for Peace and participated religiously in weekly peace vigils.

Joan worked at home as a full-time mom with her three children for 19 years from 1956 to 1975; she often said that raising her children to become good human beings was what she was most proud of.

Joan was born in Elizabeth, NJ, in 1932, the daughter of Herman and Sylvia Greenbaum, and sister of Elaine (Greenbaum) Strauss and the late Harold Greenbaum. The daughter of an illegal immigrant who fled Polish anti-Semitism, Joan learned early how to navigate classmates' barbed taunts. "The values, ethics, and politics that I attribute to Judaism determine how I strive to be in the world and set up a responsibility to make tomorrow's world better than this one," she later wrote to her grandchildren.

She earned an MA in education/counseling psychology from Goddard College after earning a sociology major at Clark University. During her time at Clark, Joan was the founder and driving force behind launching Helicon, Clark's literary magazine, and heavily involved in the theater department. It was at Clark that she met her ex-husband, Lin Webster.

Joan is survived by her children and their partners: David Webster and Kim Landau (Roslindale, MA); Steven Webster and Elizabeth Collins (Lincoln, MA); Marcia Webster and Matthew Perry (Sharon, VT); three grandsons; and one great-grandson.

For the safety of everyone, services will be held virtually on Tuesday, June 30, at 5p ET. To register through the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, go to https://bit.ly/3dl26Ef.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester or the ACLU.