Architect and activist Joan Klawans Wood died on May 9. She was 93.

She was surrounded by family in a room that also featured a cutout of the New York Times headline “NIXON RESIGNS” and a poster featuring the work of radical nun Corita Kent.

The daughter of a pharmacist and piano teacher, she was born on the South Side of Chicago and moved to Boston to attend Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, where she met her former husband, Henry Wood.

The genesis of Wood’s activism can be traced to their first house search with an African American couple, two of her colleagues, in the North End. Once the realtor saw the Black couple, he claimed that the house had already been sold. Enraged by this blatant racism, Wood’s career crystallized into one defined by change-seeking.

She eventually settled in the South End in 1963, where her neighborhood served as a hub for change. It was composed of myriad like-minded activists, such as Mel King and Marty Golden, who would frequently meet at Wood’s home.

“Our house was this amazing, crazy place filled with all these people, meetings and activities,” said her son, Josh Rose-Wood. “Her whole life was dedicated to politics, activism, affordable housing, equal rights, the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion rights. She cared about treating people decently.”

The 1960s and 1970s were fraught with racial tensions and violence, and affordable housing was scarce. Wood operated at the intersection of these two problems, using her architectural skill to build over 150 row houses that offered better conditions and to combat slumlords.

“She also worked with many institutions, including the South End Community Health Center and the Casa Mirna Shelter for Battered Women. She also did housing for the working homeless in Dorchester,” Rose-Wood said.

Wood’s impact can be seen in how she uplifted others around her, especially women. She had a rocky relationship with her own mother and greatly feared reproducing this relationship with a daughter of her own, Rose-Wood noted.

“But since she’s died, I’ve heard from just countless people about how she has mentored young women and been an inspiration to them,” he said. “She showed everyone that you could be a strong, smart woman in the world and not compromise.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu corroborated that sentiment in a speech at Wood’s funeral on July 11.

“At first, Joan was a very intimidating presence, but then she was someone who really took me under her wing,” Wu said. “When I first met her, I was new to the neighborhood. I was trying to get through a crazy family situation, and there was so much going on, and she was one of the matriarchs of the neighborhood. I remember the conversations that we had in person were always full of energy. I’m just incredibly moved to be here. I miss her, and I am grateful to Joan for [her contributions to] the South End and the place in history it holds in our city.”

Wood’s legacy today lives on through the continued operation of her architectural firm, now under Rose-Wood, who seeks to keep his mother’s activism alive.

“She was certainly a model for how I want to run the firm and treat the world,” he said. “She spent 50 years fighting, one zoning hearing, one demonstration and one fundraiser at a time, to keep the neighborhood and country she loved a place for everyone — not just those who could pay the most. Together, people can fight and make a difference.”