In Loving Memory of Julie Davis Carran
Dear WESPAC Community,
It is with an aching heart and profound gratitude for a life so beautifully lived that I share the news of the passing of our beloved Julie Davis Carran.
It is difficult for me to find words adequate to describe what Julie has meant to WESPAC and what she has meant to me personally.
My relationship with Julie goes back to the very beginning of my journey with WESPAC. In the spring of 2001, Julie served on the hiring committee that chose me to become WESPAC’s next Executive Director. I was stepping into a position with enormous responsibilities, much to learn, and a long history to honor. Julie believed in me.
But Julie did not simply help hire me and then step away.
Every Wednesday morning, she would come into the WESPAC office to show me the ropes. Week after week, she patiently helped me understand all the many things that needed to be done to keep this humble organization alive, functioning and moving forward. She helped me stay on top of the countless tasks that consistently require attention, many of them invisible to everyone except the people responsible for making sure they get done.
In the truest sense of the word, Julie became my mentor.
And she was an extraordinary one.
She knew how to encourage me, but she also knew how to speak to me when I could have done something better. That is a rare gift. Julie could hold you accountable while still making you feel supported. Her guidance never diminished me; it strengthened me. I always knew that behind her words was her belief in me, her belief in WESPAC, and her desire to see both of us flourish.
Looking back across more than twenty-five years, I realize just how much of Julie’s wisdom became woven into the way I learned to care for this organization.
There were also times when WESPAC’s very survival was uncertain. Julie and her beloved husband, Ron, responded with extraordinary generosity. When our organization was struggling to stay afloat, Julie and Ron made generous gifts that helped sustain us through difficult periods. Their generosity was not simply financial. It was an expression of faith that WESPAC mattered, that this work needed to continue, and that our community was worth investing in.
Julie understood something fundamental about movement building: organizations devoted to peace and justice do not survive on ideals alone. Someone has to tend to them. Someone has to make sure the bills are paid, the letters are answered, the records are kept, the relationships are nurtured, and the next generation of leadership is prepared. Julie understood the importance of all of it.
She understood that caring for an organization is itself an act of love.
When I think back to those Wednesday mornings so many years ago, I see more clearly now that she was entrusting me with an organization she loved and helping prepare me to carry that responsibility.
What an extraordinary privilege that has been.
Julie, I hope you knew how much your confidence in me mattered. I hope you knew that every Wednesday morning you spent teaching and guiding me helped shape the Executive Director I would become. I hope you knew that your generosity helped keep WESPAC alive during moments when our future was uncertain. And I hope you knew how deeply I loved and appreciated you.
There are people whose contributions can be measured by the projects they created, the meetings they attended or the checks they wrote. Julie did all of these things and more. But her greatest legacy may be found in the people she nurtured, the organization she helped sustain, and the values she quietly passed from one generation to the next.
I am one of the people she nurtured.
And WESPAC is one of the places where her spirit will continue to live.
After all these years, I wish I could have just one more Wednesday morning with Julie.
One more conversation. One more piece of advice. One more opportunity to tell her how much her faith in me changed me as a person.
Dear Julie, thank you for choosing me. Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for correcting me when I needed it and encouraging me when I needed that too. Thank you for helping me find my footing. Thank you to you and Ron for standing behind WESPAC when we needed you most.
And above all, thank you for believing in me.
I will carry that belief and a part of you with me for the rest of my life.
May your journey be peaceful, dear Julie.
You will always be part of WESPAC and our family.
With profound love and gratitude,
Nada
Her funeral service will be held on Wednesday, September 30th at 11:00 AM EDT. You are invited to join either in person at Congregation Kol Ami’s Chapel in the Woods (252 Soundview Avenue, White Plains), or online here
The family will observe shiva from 3:00-5:00PM and from 7:00-9:00PM on both Wednesday September 30 and Thursday October 1, at 77 Beverly Road, White Plains.
Photos below and attached courtesy of Andrew Courtney
