Obituary: Rebecca Tobias ’66
Rebecca (neé Lawrence) Tobias, Antioch College class of 1966, died March 31, 2010. Wife of Stephen Tobias, Antioch College class of 1966. Mother of Jacob Tobias and Zachary Tobias. Sister of Susan Lawrence of Kansas City. Relatives and friends are invited to Funeral Services Fri. 1 P.M. precisely at Goldsteins’ Rosenberg’s Raphael Sacks, 6410 N. Broad St. Int. West Laurel Hills Cem. Family will return to her late residence.
Rebecca Lawrence
Tobias, social worker, ceramic artist
By Sally A. Downey
Inquirer Staff Writer Rebecca
Lawrence Tobias, 67, of Mount Airy, a social worker and ceramic artist,
died of brain cancer Wednesday, March 31, at the Visiting Nurse
Association's Hospice of Philadelphia. Mrs. Tobias ended a 40-year career in March 2008 when she retired as
director of social work at Living Independently for Elders (LIFE). A
decade earlier, she helped establish the program, which is sponsored by
the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and benefits several
hundred older adults in West Philadelphia. Previously, Mrs. Tobias had been volunteer coordinator at Wissahickon
Hospice, had provided social services for the home-care program at Fox
Chase Cancer Center, had provided social services to geriatric patients
at Albert Einstein Medical Center, and was a social worker in Kentucky
and California. She also lectured, trained and conducted workshops for professionals,
volunteers, and the public. "She believed social benefits are a
right, not a privilege, and was a fierce advocate for her clients," her
husband, Stephen Tobias, said. Mrs. Tobias' ceramics were exhibited at local galleries, and her
contemporary soup tureen was in a show at the Campbell Museum in Camden.
Her work won awards at juried shows, including at the Main Line Art
Center. In 1990 and 1992, she was one of the organizers of "Art at the
Armory," an artist-run exhibit and sale featuring the work of 400
artists. Mrs. Tobias grew up in Kansas City, Mo. She earned a bachelor's
degree from Antioch College in Ohio and a master's degree in social work
from Wayne State University in Michigan. She and her husband met
in college and married in 1968. They traveled extensively and lived in
Morocco for four years in the 1970s when he was working for the American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. They moved to Philadelphia in 1987
when he took a position with the American Jewish Congress. In January, Mrs. Tobias and her husband were featured in the
four-part PBS television series This Emotional Life. They
appeared in the first episode, "Family, Friends, and Lovers," as an
example of a couple who had benefited from marriage therapy. She was a frequent contributor to The Inquirer's letters to the
editor column on a variety of subjects including politics, education,
and the Phillies. In addition to her husband, Mrs. Tobias is
survived by sons Jacob and Zachary, and a sister. The funeral was Friday, April 2, at Goldsteins' Rosenberg's
Raphael-Sacks Memorial Chapel in Philadelphia. Burial was in West Laurel
Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd. Memorial donations may be made to
Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, 45387.
