For Harriet Webster, a former School Committee member, city councilor, mayoral candidate and the founder and force of nature behind the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, getting things done seemed effortless and perpetual, with each pull on the oars of life producing another splash of value.
Of course, nothing of value ever comes effortlessly. But to Webster — who passed away Thursday at the age of 64 — making the works seem effortless was part of the charm that made her a beloved and respected figure across the city.
Yet, she was all about hard work, solving problems and social responsibility — values imbued in the New York transplant by her parents, according to her older brother Andy Merton, who teaches journalism at the University of New Hampshire.
"Politics and controversial issues were discussed all the time," Merton said Friday, a day after his sister died unexpectedly. "Mother was a socialist (and had gone to Barnard College) who softened into an Adlai Stevenson Democrat," he said. "Father was a moderate to liberal Republican" who owned a latex processing plant.
While Webster had been receiving treatment for cancer, she had given the impression of holding her own, friends and family members said Friday. Scott Memhard, owner of Cape Pond Ice Co. and a member of the Maritime Heritage Center board of directors, said she had been in his place of business just last week, measuring it for an upcoming event.
Growing up, Webster had followed her big brother to UNH, where she studied social work. Then she obtained a Master in Urban Affairs degree at Boston University.
She married early and had a child, Much later, she met and, in 1999, married Charles Symonds, who retired last year as principal of Rockport High School.
In Gloucester, Webster gravitated to elective office and was readying a campaign to oust Bruce Tobey as mayor in 2001, armed with a fierce critique of the public union contracts that had been negotiated.
Webster warned that the city's generosity to the unions was unsustainable. And observers believed she very well might have won the race, except that Tobey decided against trying for another term after holding the office for most of a decade.
With Tobey out and John Bell running in his place, Webster found herself with a campaign aimed at the wrong candidate, and with the endorsement of the Times at the time, Bell won the office, holding it for three terms.
"Her objection to the union contracts in the 1990s was prescient as we can see today," Mayor Carolyn Kirk, who succeeded Bell, said Friday. "For those of us in government, one of the things she's going to be remembered for is the courage to speak out against those contracts."
After the election loss, instead of stewing about the twist of fate, Webster turned to the enormous effort of launching the Gloucester Marine Heritage Center at the tip of Harbor Loop.
"Losing the election," said Merton, "was a blessing in disguise (for the city.)" The consolation prize for not electing her was her gift to the city. "She got things done," Merton said.
The center itself, a mix of exhibit halls and corridors, is something more and less than a museum that can leave the visitor disoriented and enthralled at the same time.
And, in its acutely off-center approach and mix of hands-on and historic displays, the heritage center could be said to stand as a reflection of its founder.
"Her preferred tools of progress," Merton said, "were her great strength and her determination."
A gathering of friends in her honor will be held Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at the family's home, 9 Langsford St. in Lanesville. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, 23 Harbor Loop, Gloucester, MA 01930.
Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3464, or at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.
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