Paul Spooner, Executive Director of MetroWest Center For Independent Living

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FRAMINGHAM – The Boston Center for Independent Living announced the sudden death of Paul Spooner.

“We are most saddened to share the news that Paul Spooner, a disability rights leader for four decades, passed unexpectedly over the weekend,” wrote the organization in an email. “Paul was Executive Director of the Metrowest Center for Independent Living in Framingham since the early 1990s, a past president of the National Council of Independent Living, and always a fierce advocate for independent living, equal access, and the dignity of people with disabilities.”

Spooner spoke out for “affordable and accessible housing, and accessible transportation, and demanded compliance with the ADA and the state’s Architectural Access Board rules,” said the Boston organization.

Spooner “courted legislators and worked closely with the Metrowest delegation in the state legislature, able to consider Senate President Karen Spilka both a friend and ally. Photos in his office from an earlier time showed Paul with Senator Ted Kennedy, among others,” wrote the Boston organization. “Just last week Paul reveled in the expansion of the CommonHealth program he’d championed with MassHealth that was approved by federal officials. His fingerprints were on too many bills, programs, civil rights complaints, and other advances for people with disabilities to count.”

“Paul Spooner passionately lived disability rights. It defined him and he helped define the cause. He’s totally irreplaceable,” wrote the organization.

SOURCE will publish the obituary and arrangements when available.

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