Friends and family gathered in East New York Tuesday to say goodbye to a woman known for her love of historical preservation and education.

Joan Maynard, 77, was the founder of the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville, an area she and fellow historians re-discovered in 1968. Weeksville was a pre-Civil War community where African-Americans could live free of oppression. There are currently four homes in Weeksville open for tours.

Maynard died in her Brooklyn home on January 22. Those who knew Maynard say she was an inspiring woman who worked tirelessly on preserving Brooklyn's history and securing funding for Weeksville.