Of Cambridge, MA, died on March 21, 2015 at age 84. She was surrounded by her children and friends, music and flowers. Jean Chapin was born in Boston, MA, to Beatrice Jones Hunter and Louis Clare Hunter. She grew up in Washington, DC, and Thetford, VT. She graduated with a BA from Oberlin College in 1952, and earned her Masters degree from the Smith College School of Social Work in 1954. In college Jean was an enthusiastic member of the Musical Union, performing major choral works and initiating a lifelong love of music.

She was a founding member of the student housing cooperative movement at Oberlin. Meeting Eleanor Roosevelt was a high point of her college years.Jean moved to Cambridge with former husband Duncan Smith in 1957 and, with the exception of a decade in Lincoln, MA, lived there until her death.Her career in Social Work spanned six decades. Early decades were spent as a caseworker in various agency and educational settings around Boston and as a supervisor for graduate casework students in the Social Work programs at Smith and Boston University, among others. She began her private practice in 1982, receiving further training with Associates for Human Resources and the Kantor Family Institute. Her professional focus shifted towards family systems and work with the LGBT community. She loved her work, and only reluctantly retired from practice in her early 80’s. She was a member of the NASW, BDC, ACSW, and AAMFT.

Jean had many passions, which she explored tirelessly and shared enthusiastically with all she knew. These ranged from a lifelong commitment to social justice, to her love of music, dance, art, travel, reading, and good food. She was an adventurer, always exploring new avenues across the range of her cultural interests. She thrived amidst Boston’s rich performance offerings in early music, opera and theater. One of her greatest sources of joy was the Mark Morris Dance Group’s L’Allegro, which she traveled great distances to see on numerous occasions. She was eagerly awaiting the film version, airing on PBS this week. Her commitment to racial and social justice was a constant thread through her life. She worked with the NAACP Education Committee, Community Change, Inc., AIDS Action, PFLAG, and was on the boards of METCO and the Cambridge YWCA. Later in her life she was an active participant in her Agassiz-Baldwin neighborhood community, and an enthusiastic supporter of Maud Morgan Arts.

Jean leaves her three daughters, Pi Smith, Cary Smith Mondschean, and Alexandra Smith Trusty; four granddaughters, Julia Mondschean, Anna Mondschean, Zia Smith, and Fiona Trusty; former husband Duncan Smith; sons-in-law Thomas Mondschean and Ryan Trusty; nieces Jennifer Chapin and Elizabeth Duffett; nephews Carl Bauer, Adam Bauer, and Maxwell Steinhardt. Her beloved sister, Grenelle Hunter Scott, died in August 2014.Memorial contributions in her name can be made to Community Change, Inc. (http://www.communitychangeinc.org/) or Maud Morgan Arts (http://www.maudmorgan.com/index.htm). Questions may be sent to Picaryalexsmith@gmail.com.

A private memorial gathering will be held in the spring.