Joan Cummings Hebert W’45: Enduring Devotion
Some stories are so quiet that they’re easy to miss. They don’t jump out and beg to be told. Joan Cummings Hebert’s long commitment to the alma mater of her late husband, Robert S. Hebert ’45, is such a story.
Joan and Bob married in 1949 and settled in Tuckahoe, New York. Bob was hired by J.H. Redding, Inc., an import/export company in New York City, of which he eventually became secretary. The couple had two children: Cynthia and Robert III.
In 1963, Bob died of cancer at age 40. And here’s where the quiet story begins. Every year since the late 1960s, without fail, Joan gave to the Amherst Fund. For more than half a century, she honored the memory of her husband by supporting the college he loved.
Joan made her final gift to the Amherst Fund in October, 72 years after Bob graduated from the College and 56 years after his death. She passed away on December 9, 2019 at age 93, but her extraordinary dedication to Amherst—which continues through a bequest to the College—will endure, carrying a hopeful message of commitment, consistency and loyal love across time.