Julianne "Pat" Graves Webber

This past Easter Monday morning, Lancaster lost one of its Red Roses, when Pat died peacefully, following a stroke the week before. Although a resident of Lancaster since 1964, she never lost her Southern accent nor her Southern grace and ever flowing elegance. Similarly, she never forgot to share her sense of humor, faith, and compassionate insights even as she needed memory support in later years.

Born in 1933 in Winston-Salem, NC to the late Calvin and Julia Graves, Pat excelled both at Reynolds High School and Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, where she met Joseph Frank Webber of Roanoke, Virginia who had recently graduated from Virginia Military Institute. After their early married life in Georgia and North Carolina, Joe and Pat moved with their three children to Hess Boulevard in Lancaster.

Her father’s model of civic service as a local attorney and State Senator, as well as her Christian faith, inspired Pat constantly to search for ways to be of service. A long-time member of the Junior League and the American Association of University Women, Pat also helped to lead a Youth Charette to create intergenerational dialogue. She went on to be employed by the Admissions Office at Franklin & Marshall College, as well as serving as a Trustee at Lebanon Valley College, a Board member for the Lancaster Day Care Center, and the President of the Citizens Scholarship Foundation. Pat also served in many leadership roles at First United Methodist Church, including perhaps the greatest of her shared gifts exemplified in her co-founding the church’s Stephen Ministry program to educate lay people to help those experiencing difficult times.

In 1998, the Lancaster New Era honored Pat with a Red Rose Award for her decades of service. Each role demonstrated her conviction that education for individuals builds better community for all.

Pat’s greatest joys involved relationships. She cherished partnering in life with her beloved husband Joe, as well as being a loving mother to Joseph, Jr. (Terri), Julia (Tim Anderman), and Benton (Anne Almy-Webber), a grandmother, and great-grandmother. She and Joe traveled throughout the United States and internationally, making lasting friendships out of the most unlikely circumstances.

The family invites those grieving Pat’s loss to attend a memorial service on Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 3pm at First United Methodist Church, 29 E Walnut St, Lancaster, PA 17602. A family visitation will begin at 2pm. The family also requests that, in lieu of flowers, gifts of sympathy be donated to Lancaster Dollars for Higher Learning, First UMC, Alzheimer's Association or Brethren Village Benevolent Fund.