According to her obituary, Affleck died on June 2 after attending her grandson’s high school graduation on May 31. She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December, News.Az reports, citing Mass Live.
Born in New York City in 1942, Chris Affleck dedicated much of her life to education and social activism. After graduating from college, she worked as a public school teacher and became actively involved in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.
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Her obituary notes that she taught literacy classes in Mississippi during the 1964 Freedom Summer campaign, participated in protests against the Vietnam War and embraced the social activism of the 1960s.
One of the first women from Radcliffe College to receive a Harvard University diploma, Affleck chose a career in public education over more lucrative professions, spending 35 years teaching students from diverse backgrounds.
She raised her sons, Ben and Casey Affleck, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where both would eventually launch successful Hollywood careers.
Ben Affleck gained international recognition after co-writing and starring in Good Will Hunting, earning an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1998 alongside longtime friend Matt Damon. He later won a second Oscar as a producer of Argo and directed acclaimed films including The Town and Argo.
Casey Affleck established himself with roles in films such as the Ocean’s trilogy before winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for Manchester by the Sea after receiving an earlier nomination for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Beyond her work in education, Chris Affleck remained active in public life after retiring in 2008. She volunteered on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, traveled to Israel and the Palestinian territories, worked with the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine and served as a founding board member of the Sustainable Cape project in Truro, Massachusetts.
She is survived by her two sons and five grandchildren: Indiana, Violet, Atticus, Fin and Sam. Her family and obituary also remembered her for her lifelong commitment to education, equality and social justice.
