Joanne Shane Plummer

Tribute to Joanne

Dear friends and family,

We are here today to honor the life of my beloved sister-in-law, Joanne. For me, she was much more than a sister-in-law — she was one of my closest friends here in the United States.

From the first day we met, Joanne welcomed me completely, as if I had always been part of her family. When I was new to this country, she made my transition into American life easier in every possible way — helping me find clothes for the seasons, helping me to find cheap deals when shopping, and introducing me to friends. Together with her brother Paul, my husband, she opened so many doors for me.

One of the most extraordinary, selfless things Joanne ever did — perhaps the most heroic —was to give Paul the gift of life. When his kidneys failed and he faced the exhaustion of dialysis every second day for a year, Joanne didn’t hesitate. She donated one of her kidneys to him. That act of love gave Paul — and all of us — more precious years together, and it is something for which I will always be deeply grateful.

Joanne was a person who lived for others. Her kindness, compassion, and commitment extended far beyond her family and close friends. She had a deep sense of justice and she acted on it.

As a young woman, she took part in the civil rights movement, working for racial integration and fighting for Black people’s right to vote. She was among those who organized the integration of schools, restaurants, theaters, and other public institutions in New York and New Jersey. She didn’t just hold beliefs — she turned them into action.

Joanne also poured her heart into the Secular Jewish Movement for over 40 years. She was one of the founding members of the Philadelphia Secular Jewish Organization (PSJO) and an organizing member of the Conference of the Secular Jewish Organizations (CSJO). She served for many years on the CSJO’s Executive Committee and was the treasurer of PSJO. Through these roles, she helped create spaces where Jewish culture, ethics, and community could thrive outside of religious frameworks. 

She and Paul were long-term members of a cultural Jewish group called Havara — “Friends” in Hebrew — which met monthly for Oneg Shabbat gatherings and celebrated the High Holidays together: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover. It was through Joanne and these groups that I met so many of the friends who have become part of my own life here.

Joanne’s commitment to justice and community also extended to education. She was one of the first generation of parents to send her son, Robert, to Project Learn, a small, pioneering democratic school. This school was part of a movement to give students more voice, more agency, and a freer, more humane learning environment. Schools like this could not have survived without brave parents like Joanne — parents willing to stand by their ethical principles and support experiments in freeing children from the constraints of conventional, often oppressive, education.

Joanne was a person of strong values and principles. She did not take it well when people stepped over her sense of right and wrong. She didn’t hold her tongue or hide her feelings and opinions — even when it might have been risky or “less appropriate.” Sometimes this made people offended, or wary of what she might say. But to me, this was part of her integrity and her courage. It’s why I sometimes thought of her as a Cantankerous Angel — a person whose love and care for others were matched by her fierce honesty and unwillingness to compromise on what she believed was right. 

Her absence leaves a space we cannot fill. But her life gives us a model — to welcome others with open arms, to stand for justice, to give without measure, to speak truth with courage, and to live fully for the people and principles we cherish.

Rest in peace, dear Joanne. We will carry your spirit in our hearts, and your example will guide us always.

Ana

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