Shared by Marion Ross

As Marion Ross completes thirty-five years as a social worker at Jewish Family & Children's Service she reflects on her work here.

"I have had the privilege of helping young mothers and their babies come to delight in each other and have seen old men and women come to grips with grief and return to hope after loss. During my years at JF&CS, I had the unusual experience of working with a single person throughout my entire tenure here - as my role at JF&CS changed, so too did his needs as a client. I worked with him as he became a parent, greeting his first child with anxiety and appreciation, later in life as he faced the ups and downs that a full life presents, and years later when he became a grandparent and embraced his grandchildren with unmitigated joy. It has been an honor to accompany people, not just in times of crisis, but along the sometimes lonely paths of life."

Originally from New York, Marion earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and her master's degree in social work from the University of Chicago. After working at a family service agency in Chicago, she returned to Ann Arbor where she joined Selma Fraiberg's Child Development Project and got her introduction to infant mental health, a new field at the time. While there, she produced a training film about blindness in infancy.

Marion moved to Greater Boston with her husband in 1972 and worked at the Newton Guidance Clinic until her first child was born. She engaged in part-time work while her children were young, teaching at Wheelock College, consulting to educators, and being a field supervisor at the Boston College School of Social Work. She published articles and reviews in community mental health journals and in an historical encyclopedia, Jewish Women in America.

Marion came to JF&CS in September 1979 when her son entered kindergarten and her daughter started preschool. Her work here has been varied, mostly taking place in the Mental Health Clinic and the Center for Early Relationship Support®. Her greatest joy has been her interaction with colleagues throughout the agency, and being part of an agency that serves the community with energy, creativity, and thoughtfulness.