| Roberta Dew Conant |
| 4/29/2024 |
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Roberta Dew Conant, 79, of Jamaica Plain, MA, passed away on April 29, 2024 surrounded by her loving family. She was a beloved sister, wife, mother, and grandmother, friend, and neighbor. She was also a dedicated psychologist, working with children and families in crisis. She was a talented gardener who delighted in bird watching and counting the many varieties of butterflies and bees drawn to the flowers she tended so diligently.
Roberta was born on January 21, 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio. Raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, she attended Hillcrest Elementary, and WMU lab school for grades 7-12. She attended Oberlin College, where she met her husband, Peter in the registration line during their first week at college. Following their 1967 wedding, they moved to Cambridge, where she completed a Masters of Education degree at Boston University in 1975 with a thesis in Special Education at the Walker Home and School in Needham, MA. She worked as a special education teacher for the Boston, Everett and Brookline Public Schools, the Manville School at Judge Baker in Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as the DARE School of Boston. Roberta and Peter moved to Jamaica Plain, where they bought a two-family home with their friends from Oberlin, John and Kathleen Lamb, and raised their children together. Their combined five children delighted in being able to play between both households, passing through the closets and back hall in an endless circle of love and friendship that the families maintain today. This is but one example of the type of enduring communities Roberta fostered for her family and friends. Roberta completed her Doctorate of Clinical Psychology (Psy. D) at William James College, formerly Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, in 1992. Her dissertation on the experience of adult attachment during traumatic grief was published as a book chapter in Klass, Dennis, Silverman, et al. Continuing Bonds, Knopf, 1997. She completed a neuropsychology internship at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center Community Neurodevelopmental Clinic and worked sequentially for Brigham and Women’s Hospital Brookside Park Family Life Center, Boston Children’s Hospital Neuropsychology Clinic, West-Ros-Park Mental Health Center, Catholic Charities Edwina Martin House, Cutler Counseling Center, Charles River Health Management, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and for Boston Regional Medical Center. She was the Clinical Coordinator for the Residential Assessment Program (CBAT) at Franciscan Children’s Hospital and Rehabilitation Center and McLean Hospital, and neuropsychologist at MGH for Children at North Shore Medical Center. Roberta had an accomplished career as a clinical psychologist with interests focusing on children and families, neuropsychology, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy, Family Psychotherapy and the intersection of attachment bonds, trauma and grief. Roberta’s twinkling eyes, easy smile and ready laugh will be missed by all who knew her. She will be remembered for her dedication to helping others, her love for nature, and her passion for birding, gardening, and music. She loved working with children, connecting with people and hosting parties at her home. She enjoyed collecting rocks and shells, hiking, swimming, birding, photography, and was a voracious reader. She delighted in her final years in taking care of her grandson, gardening with native plants and irises from her grandfather’s garden. She touched the lives of many and will be deeply missed. She leaves behind her loving husband of 56 years, Peter M. Conant, daughters Rebecca L. Conant and Kerry D. Conant, son-in-law Ryan Miller, grandson Sawyer C. Miller, son-in-law Craig M. Nisgor, and siblings Patricia Dew, Jennifer Dew de Castro, Paul Dew, and stepmother Fran Dew (also recently deceased). Roberta was preceded in death by her mother, Hallie W. Dew, and father, Robert R. Dew. Roberta will be interred at Fern Hill in Forest Hills Cemetery. Contributions in her memory can be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The family is grateful to her doctors and medical team at both MGB and DFCI. | ||||
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