Janice Duncan, 67, Was Active in Episcopal Church

Janice Waterman Duncan, a former resident of West Tisbury, died Wednesday, March 1, at Hamilton, Ontario. Ms. Duncan was a frequent visitor to the Island for decades before taking up residence here in the 1990s. She was 67.

Ms. Duncan was an advocate for affordable housing on Martha's Vineyard and worked for the safety of battered women and abused children. She was also active in the affairs of Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven. At one time she served as a deputy to the diocese of Massachusetts convention.

Janice Waterman Duncan was the daughter of the late Rt. Rev. Harold Waterman and Frances Bayne Waterman. Her father was dean of Christ's Church Cathedral, Hamilton, at the time of her birth and later Anglican (Episcopal) Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Ms. Duncan and her husband, Richard L. Crawford, moved back to her home town of Hamilton, Ontario, in 2001.

She was active in the affairs of the Episcopal Church in the United States, serving as a deputy to the General Convention five times, representing the diocese of Pennsylvania. She also served on the council of advice to the president of the House of Deputies; as a member of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, and was for many years the director of programs for the diocese of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Duncan played a notable role in the Coalition for the Ordination of Women, and was a pivotal person in the 1974 General Convention's canonical approval of women's ordination. Prior to that, she had been involved in planning for the ordination of the first 11 women to receive holy orders -- an illicit but regular action on the part of the ordaining bishops, and a key move toward canonical approval.

As the mother of two children with disabilities, she was active as a leader and advocate for such people and their families. She was a member of the Circle of Friends, a support group in Hamilton for people living with life-threatening illnesses.

Ms. Duncan also established a successful organizational development and conflict resolution business, working mainly among congregations and higher religious judicatories of many faith groups. She also assisted nonprofit organizations with similar problems.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by four children, Theodore Duncan of Willow Grove, Pa., Sharon Duncan Sylvia of West Tisbury, Carolyn Stern of Abington, Pa., and Catherine Duncan of Sellarsville, Pa.; three granddaughters, Caitlyn Parkhurst and Alex Sylvia, both of West Tisbury, and Emma Rose Stern of Abington, Pa.; one grandson, E.J. Sylvia of West Tisbury; six stepchildren and numerous step-grandchildren; a sister, Marjorie Laidler of Hamilton, Ontario; and two brothers, Harold and Robert of Ontario. A dear and lifelong friend, Jean Lane Duncan of West Chester, Pa., (formerly of Halifax, Nova Scotia) also survives. She was predeceased by two older brothers, Norman and Gerald.

Services will be held at Christ's Church Cathedral in Hamilton at a time to be announced in the spring.