Janet Brown Coombs, 89, passed away peacefully on September 23, 2014, in the comfort of her home, at Westview Meadows, in Montpelier, VT, with her son Stephen and daughter Nancy by her side. Born in Melrose, MA, on April 22, 1925, she was the daughter of the late Chester and Carrie Brown. Janet was a graduate of Melrose High School and of Westbrook Jr. College.
Janet met her best friend, Gordon P. Coombs, in grade school and they stayed friends throughout her college years. On January 28, 1950, she married Gordon at her parents' home near the beach in Manomet, MA. They settled in Bedford, MA, where they raised their three children, Stephen, Nancy and Douglas.
Janet was very active with their children's activities and in the Bedford, MA, community. She was an athletic woman, who loved skiing, tennis, biking in Maine and golfing with her husband. Janet volunteered with the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, taught watercolor painting classes at Carleton Willard Retirement Home, coached the Bedford High School girls' tennis team, was a member of The Bedford Arts & Crafts Society and a member of the Emerson Hospital Auxiliary Puppet Group which provided puppets for the pediatric patients for numerous years. Janet was an extremely loving grandparent to her five grandchildren and, recently, her first great-grandchild.
After Gordon's retirement, they followed their dream to build a summer log home on a lake in Maine that has become a special place for their family. Janet and Gordon also passed on a love of skiing to their family that motivated their children to live near the mountains.
Janet is survived by two of her three children: her son, Stephen G. Coombs and his wife Karen Coombs and their children of Londonderry, Whitney and Brent Coombs; her daughter, Nancy C. Coombs and her husband James Hildebrand of Waitsfield and their children, Scott Kennison and his wife Lindsay and their son Syzer Kennison, and Dana G. Kennison and step-grandchildren Kyle Hildebrand and Meghan Hildebrand Barnes; Emily Coombs, wife of deceased son Douglas B. Coombs, and grandson David Coombs of Jackson, WY. Her sister, Barbara B. Tripp of Libby, Montana, also survives her. Janet was predeceased by her husband, Gordon; her son, Douglas; and her brother-in-law, Harry Tripp, in 2006.
There will be a family celebration of her life in Rangeley, Maine, at a later date. For those who wish, memorial gifts would be appreciated to the Doug Coombs Foundation, P.O. Box 7665 Jackson, WY 83002, to support children who may never have the financial chance to experience the enjoyment of alpine skiing as it did for the Coombs family. A special thank you to the Westview Meadows Assisted Living staff who gave their all to Janet and her family for the past two years and to Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice and Bayada caretakers as they will always be in our hearts.
Assisting the family is Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury, VT. To send online condolences visit www.perkinsparker.com and Facebook.
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