One of the co-founders of the Bean Soup & Stories event in Jacksonville, Mary Webster, has passed away at age 93.
Mary was a beloved storyteller and FSA member who along with friends Elaine Kitchings and Yvette Thomas started the Jacksonville Northside Storytelling League in the late 1980s.
The League started Bean Soup & Stories in the 1990s to coincide with Telebration.
Mary would help make huge vats of homemade ham and bean soup (delicious) and following a program of stories, the Northside League of storytellers would serve bean soup, cornbread, iced tea and dessert.
One of the longtime Florida tellers, Mary served on the FSA Board, never missed StoryCamp at Lake Yale and came to Mount Dora until just the past few years when age precluded the travel.
In a 2011 interview in the Florida Times Union, she said she had been a storyteller all her life, but she was doing it in an organized, purposeful way as a member of a storytellers’ league since 1991, after she went to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn.
“I saw people getting paid to do what we did on our front porch,” she said. “So I said, ‘Maybe I can do this.’”
At the 2020 Florida Storytelling Festival she was awarded the Ambassador of Storytelling Award.
Throughout her life, she devoted herself to helping others and sharing her gifts with the world. She volunteered with numerous organizations, including Kairos Prison Ministry, Northside Storytellers, the National Storytelling Network, and Prisoners of Christ. Mary was also a devoted member of Avondale United Methodist Church.
A memorial service at Avondale is planned for Nov. 15. This year, the Bean Soup & Stories event will not take place. It may resume in 2026.
Mary loved baking, sewing, painting, and reading. She often used her talents to craft heartfelt Christmas and birthday gifts for family and friends. An avid storyteller, she delighted in sharing her tales—both factual and fictional—with anyone who would listen.
She was known as a delightful storyteller, easy on the ears and filled with love for her stories and her audiences. Many newer FSA members may not know who she was, but she leaves a legacy of love and service. She, along with so many others that have left us, made our Florida storytelling community what it is today.
Portions of the content provided by Dignity Memorial obituary and FSA member Kaye Byrnes.
Mary with her friend the late Yvette Thomas who passed away in 2022
Mary was a welcome presence at the annual FSA Storytelling Camp. I knew of her efforts on behalf of storytelling in the Jacksonville area, but until now I wasn’t aware of her work with Kairos and Prisoners of Christ. A generous woman with a large heart, and an engaging storyteller. She will be missed.
Mary was an extraordinary storyteller and even a more extraordinary human being. She shared not only words but actions that came straight from her huge heart. For me, kindness has Mary’s picture. She will be missed but always remembered with love and smiles.