Lurline Munoz-Bennett

On Saturday, November 6, 2021, Dr Lurline Verona Muñoz-Bennett, PhD, beloved mother of four children and Executive Director of the Jamaicaribe Choral and Dramatic Society, passed away at the age of 90.

Dr. Muñoz-Bennett was born on June 11, 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, to Cyril and Agatha Thomas. She received a bachelors degree in Education from Shortwood Teachers’ College in Jamaica, a Masters degree in Music from Boston University, a PhD in Education from Kennedy Western University, and was the Arts Director to Massachusetts at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for over 45 years. She was an opera singer, an athlete, an educator, and the founder-director of the Jamaicaribe Choral and Dramatic Society (JCDS) for 40 years.

Dr. Muñoz-Bennett was married to Armand Aquilino Muñoz-Bennett in 1957. They raised three sons and one daughter; Howard (son), Adrian (son), True (daughter), and Peter (son).

Dr. Muñoz-Bennett was an accomplished and well known soprano soloist (opera singer) during her early years in Kingston, Jamaica, and received a scholarship to study abroad in England before migrating to the USA.

She had a passion for music, a love of God and Church, a steadfast devotion to the Country of her birth, and a powerful commitment to her family. She was known for her strength, her leadership, and the ability to spontaneously burst into a smile or song.

In Jamaica, Dr Muñoz-Bennett was an Educator to all levels from 1st grade through College. She taught Music, Mathematics, and Physical Education. She also directed several student choirs during this time.

Dr. Muñoz-Bennett was an accomplished hurdler in Track and Field in her youth. She was in the process of being trained as an olympic athlete to represent Jamaica but faced a choice between athletic competition and musical performance via continued education. She chose music and her educational career, but never left behind her athletic roots. She did still manage, however, to represent Jamaica at the British Commonwealth Games.

When she first arrived in the United States, Dr. Muñoz-Bennett pioneered physical education in America. She was a dedicated proponent of equal educational opportunity and brought her Jamaican perspective of academic excellence to the state of Massachusetts. She was first appointed Associate Director of the Career Opportunity Program (COP) for Massachusetts, then served as the METCO Director (Metropolition Council for Education Opportunities) for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Later Dr. Muñoz-Bennett was an advocate for educational Civil Rights as Liaison to the Desegregation School Leaders (DSL) for Massachusetts and the Racial Imbalance Advisory Committee (RIAC). Finally Dr. Muñoz-Bennett served in the position of Arts Director to Massachusetts (through DESE) from which she retired in 2018 at the age of 87 - almost fifty years working for the state school system and on behalf of students and educators of all races and backgrounds. Through all of this time she maintained her position as a leader and role model to the Jamaican community and diaspora in the United States. She was the consummate educator and a blessing to the educational process of all children; in particular she was a guiding beacon to children of color who attended the commonwealth's public schools.

In addition to her work, Dr Muñoz-Bennett was a community leader in the Church at All Saint’s Church, Ashmont (she directed bible study groups, lead women’s prayer groups, managed the coffee hour volunteers, and at one time in the distant past ran Bible Summer Day Camps, Youth Groups, and Sunday school).

Dr Muñoz-Bennett founded the Jamaicaribe Choral and Dramatic Society (JCDS) in the early 1980s and continued to direct it right up through her final festival in August of 2021. Every summer she would produce the Jamaican Independence Festival in Boston, which included performances from the JCDS and other groups, as well as community outreach. She was eventually recognized by the Consulate General’s office of New York with their 2013 Heritage Award for community service and promoting Jamaican Culture in the United States.

In 2014 Dr. Muñoz-Bennett was the recipient of the Woman Of The Year Award from the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW).

Dr. Muñoz-Bennett was preceded in death by her husband, Armand, her mother, Agatha (Mama), and her grandmother, Rebecca (Aunt Beck). She is survived by her four children, Howard, Adrian, True, Peter, and by several cousins, nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Visitation will be held on Friday, November 19th, 2021 from 5 pm to 8 pm at McHoul Family Funeral Home, 354 Adams Street, Dorchester MA.

A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, November 20th, 2021 at 11:00 am at All Saint’s Church, 209 Ashmont Street, Dorchester, MA.

Interment Private