Fond Tribute Paid to Joyce Weber and Jean Wilhelm at ‘J.W. Squared’ Event

Affectionately dubbed ‘J.W. Squared,’ a special event was offered on August 13 at Eastport Arts Center to commemorate the lives of Joyce Weber and Jean Wilhelm. Committee member Marged Higginson noted that the event’s aim was “To provide a send-off befitting the synergistic efforts of these two ladies who produced exponential results on behalf of the growth of Eastport Arts Center.” Many gathered to share remembrances of Joyce and Jean, paying tribute to each woman’s talents and life stories, by turns poignantly and humorously, with attention both to their lives before and during their Eastport eras.
“It was heartwarming to see how much they were loved, respected and appreciated. Some sentiments were funny, some were poignant, some were deep, some came from past chapters of their lives, some specifically geared to their arrival in Eastport, but all exposed a facet of their brilliant abilities and larger-than-life personalities. The quotes on the cakes, one for each, captured the essence of each J.W. with ‘ONWARD’ for Jean, and ‘I FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT THIS’ for Joyce.”

Marie Holmes, former Assistant Editor of The Quoddy Tides and a dear friend and contemporary of Joyce’s, listened to the remembrances.

“Touching was the presence of friends and family from far away, and from the larger Eastport
Community,” noted Higginson, “such as churches, Literary Round Table, Eastport Garden Club and members of the various constituencies of Eastport Arts Center. Jean would have been thrilled at the presence of the stewards of her much loved boat, Katharsis and the ‘parents’ of Lucky, a favorite dog. Mementos on display included a theater sign from Australia, photos, a book about Joyce’s art and the cookbook inspired by Joyce’s brainchild, the International Dinner. The amazing photo that welcomed us to the event and oversaw our proceedings was an enlargement of a photo taken by a student in a workshop led by Leslie Bowman many years ago.“

“The committee thanks those who poured love into creating JW Squared, to honor the two JW’s: Chris Grannis did much of the heavy lifting, assisted by Marlene Russ, Cathy Adelman, Bernie Cecire, Marged Higginson, Greg Biss, John Newell, Diana Boone and Jon Bragdon.”