In Memory of Barbara L. Hebner (April 22, 1935-March 13, 2026)

We offer our condolences to the family and colleagues of the Rev. Barbara L. Hebner, who died on March 13, 2026, at the age of 90.

Barbara was born on April 22, 1935, in Los Angeles, California, to Maurice Jean Hebner and Esther Washburne Hebner. She lived in California throughout her high school years, and as a child and teen, family journeys took her to both Mexico and the redwoods of northern California, experiences that broadened her early sense of the wider world.

Challenging society to change, testing and incorporating the new, learning through the experiences, and embracing mistakes as a part of genuine growth, she pursued a varied professional journey shaped by intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and a spirit of service. She worked as a bonded messenger for the Bank of America, as a mathematician at Ryan Aeronautics (1957-1959), and as an engineering technician for the Douglas Aircraft Company at Edwards Air Force Base. During one of the moves between coasts, she earned a Certificate in Protocol (1963).  Her work further included bat research fieldwork for the Rockefeller Foundation in the American Southwest and Mexico. In 1973, she received a BA in English and Anthropology from Colorado State University. She held many additional jobs over the years, including speechwriter for a senator, grant writer, research associate at Colorado State University (1974–1976), and a freelance technical writer and editor (1973–1984).

From 1982 to 1985, Barbara served the Unitarian Fellowship of Newark, Delaware, in various roles. She was Director of Religious Education, Publicity Chair (1980–1982), Director of Meditation (1981), Chair of Long-Range Needs Assessment, and a member of the Program Committee. Her call to the UU ministry emerged from her deep engagement in congregational life, community, and social action. She sought to serve the greater good and to cultivate a model for a pluralistic society– one in which differences are met not as threats but as opportunities for celebration and growth. She was committed to helping members of the congregation work out their own vision of what ultimately mattered to them, offering encouragement and solace. Guided by this calling, she earned a Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary, Pennsylvania, in 1986.

The Rev. Hebner was ordained on April 28, 1986, by the Unitarian Church of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Following ordination, she served as an assistant minister of the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn, New York (1986–1988), leading services, meditation, and adult education programs. She brought wide theological knowledge, a deep spiritual understanding, and counselled many parishioners. Subsequently, she served the UU Gloucester County Congregation, Turnersville, New Jersey, from 1988 to 1990, as a part of a ministerial program supported by the Joseph Priestley District for a new congregation. During her tenure, she strengthened the congregation through her thoughtful and well-developed sermons and meaningful Sunday services. Her leadership helped the relatively new congregation experience a greater degree of stability and enhanced the quality of congregation life. She also led an outstanding adult education series on Native American Spirituality that attracted several people from beyond the congregation. The Rev. Hebner responded with empathy, warmth, and grounded intelligence. She was a good listener and advisor who could relate to all kinds of people.

From 1990 to 1992, she served as an administrative assistant to the President’s Commission to Promote Racial and Cultural Diversity at the University of Delaware, Newark. In this role, she supported the Commission’s effort to foster a university climate that valued diversity. From 1992 to 1994, she was an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware. She retired from her active ministry in 1996.

In addition to her parish and community ministry, the Rev. Hebner was actively involved in the UUA, district, area, and regional activities, serving on the Continental Board of the UU Women’s Federation (1985–1987) and later its Nominating Committee (1987–1989). She was a workshop leader for the UU Mid-Atlantic Community workshop in 1984, 1988, and 1989 and a worship leader at the 1988 General Assembly.

Barbara was involved in community building through political, social, environmental, and civic engagement. In Fort Collins, Colorado, she was a lecturer at the Symposium on Front Range Growth (1971); chair of the People and Population Committee for Civic Planning (1971–1973); a member of the Virginia Neal Blue Resource Center for Women (1974–1977); and a board member of the Home Helps Inc. (1979). Likewise, she was a member of PFLAG and proud to keep learning her whole life about a new lived understanding of gender, sexuality, and relationships.

In her leisure time, Barbara enjoyed gardening, writing poetry, classical music, and modern cinema. After retirement, she spent many hours sharing her wonders of the cosmos, space, science, nature, music, theatre, art, and travel with her grandchildren. She shared her knowledge, observations, and insights with anyone who might find them of service, right up to the last days of her life. Her writing, The Baklava Maker and The Bottle of Cognac, received first prize in the Colorado Creative Arts competition in 1982 and 1983.

Her daughter Heather shared, “My mom was also concerned with the rights and education of women globally (donating to girls schools and education in regions across the world), and in making visible the historical presence and contributions of people with marginalized identities (particularly race/ethnicity and gender) in STEM in particular – which shows up in her named support of the exhibit of astronomer Vera Rubin’s astronomy equipment at the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum, a grant she started co-funding along with her eldest daughter Laura Peebles in 2022 for an exhibit that will be opening to the public soon.”

Barbara is survived by her children: Laura Peebles (Ellen Fingerman), Megan Martin (Gareth Smith), Laird Cummings (Jennifer Cummings), Heather Petit (Will Hurd), Margaret Badger, and Michael Petit (Kristan Petit), as well as many who considered her “Mom.” She is also survived by her niece, Deb Fletcher (Julie Fletcher); her nephews, Harold Fletcher, and Jim Cummings (Susan Meeker); eleven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

A memorial service was held on April 25, 2026, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark, 420 Willa Rd, Newark, DE 19711.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the UUA Living Tradition Fund, environmental plastics cleanup efforts, local progressive political campaigns –especially those with seat-flip potential, or direct giving to members in need in your community.

Notes of condolence may be sent to: The Hebner Family, 206 Grantham Place, Newark, DE 19711.