Longtime Boston teacher Christopher Anne Affleck dies at 83
Christopher Anne Affleck, a former public-school teacher and activist who taught for 35 years, died at age 83 after a brief illness, surviving her husband, two sons and five grandchildren.
Christopher Anne Affleck, born in New York City in 1942, died peacefully in her sleep on June 2, 2026, at the age of 83. A graduate of Radcliffe College and one of the first women to receive a Harvard diploma, she spent 35 years teaching in Boston public schools, where she was known for treating all students equally, regardless of background.
Affleck was active in the civil-rights movement, teaching literacy classes in Mississippi during Freedom Summer and participating in anti-Vietnam War protests. After retiring in 2008, she volunteered on the Obama campaign, worked with the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, and helped found the Sustainable Cape project in Truro, Massachusetts.
She was survived by her sons, Benjamin Géza Affleck and Caleb Casey Affleck, and five grandchildren: Indiana, Violet, Atticus, Fin and Sam. Affleck’s wish to see her grandson graduate was fulfilled when she attended the ceremony on May 31, 2026.
"She always believed in giving every student a voice," said a former colleague who taught with her at the public school.
Affleck had been diagnosed with a terminal illness in December 2025 and spent her final months recording oral histories with a friend who was a former South Bronx principal.