ATLANTIC CITY — More than 300 people gathered Monday morning to remember Sister Jean Webster, her tough-love attitude and her unconditional kindness.
“It is ironic we would celebrate on a day set aside to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King,” the Rev. Diana Lyles said in front of an overflowing crowd at Victory First Presbyterian Deliverance Church.
Webster died Jan. 10 after a two decade battle with cardiopulmonary disease.
Lyles said people should be able to see the similarities between King and Webster, 76, who dedicated the last 25 years of her life to feeding the city’s homeless.
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“(King) was one who worked to change things so we could have a better life,” Lyles said. “Sister Jean worked to make sure people were fed.”
The service immediately followed a two-hour viewing of Webster, who was adorned with a chef’s hat. During the service, which was more than two hours long, Lyles said pastors and preachers may find the courage and strength to stand in front of a microphone each week, but Sister Jean, as she was known throughout the city, had the strength to feed the masses.
“Not many of us would stand behind a pot and feed people who need to be fed,” she said.
The audience attending Webster’s final celebration included Webster’s family and friends, staff from Sister Jean’s Kitchen, city officials and the many impoverished people who benefited from Webster’s warmth and hospitality.
Attire for the ceremony ranged from formal wear to sweat pants and T-shirts.
While friends and parishioners of Webster’s church said they will always remember her being a mother and friend to all she came in contact with, Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford said the entire city would feel the loss of one of its own.
“It is indeed a tremendous loss for the city of Atlantic City,” he said. But, more so, he said it was difficult for the city to “say goodbye to our own patron saint.”
Langford said Webster reminded him of the James Brown song “Papa Don’t Take No Mess.” Webster expected nothing less than perfection for her guests and anyone else she helped out, he said.
“Sister Jean was a perfectionist. And she didn’t accept no junk,” he said to laughter and applause.
During the program, local clergy and Webster’s friends spoke about her kindness and selflessness. They spoke of her love of others and her desire to help strangers without asking for anything in return.
She wanted to be a giver to a community full of people who needed guidance, they said.
“When I heard she passed away, I knew God let her stay here until the last person of that day was fed,” kitchen volunteer Charles James said. “Her watch ended.”
James volunteered with Webster for the past 14 years. He said he spoke of her daily because he was in “awe of her compassion and dedication to what she did.” When Webster died, he had a hole in his heart that was “too big to measure,” he said. That hole has shrunk in the past week, James said.
However, even though Webster is gone, James said he hopes her work does not stop.
“Don’t let that legacy die,” he said.
Officials with the Friends of Jean Webster, the organization that oversees the operation of Sister Jean’s Kitchen, said the kitchen will remain open and will continue Webster’s mission.
Contact Caitlin Dineen:
609-272-7231
Burial today
Webster will be buried at 11 a.m. today in the Atlantic City Cemetery at Black Horse Pike and New Road in Pleasantville. Members of the public who wish to attend the graveside service are requested to meet at 10:30 a.m. at Victory First Presbyterian Deliverance Church, 1013 Pacific Ave. in Atlantic City.
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