Janice Tappin Lowell Whittemore, 91, of Bridgton, the daughter of Adelaide Florence Smith and Clarence Leon Tappin, was born in Waterbury, Conn. on April 23, 1923, and died Jan. 20, 2014.

Mrs. Whittemore leaves her three sons and their families:  Roger and Chris Lowell, Peter and Paula Lowell, all of Bridgton, and John and Carrie Lowell of Center Harbor, N.H.; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren; and also many nieces and nephews.

She and her late husband, F. Newton Whittemore, resided on Highland Ridge for many years. Her two sisters, Virginia Tappin Nolan of Bridgton and St. Augustine, Fla., and Priscilla Tappin Knox of Watertown, Conn., died previously.

She enjoyed traveling, playing golf, making quilts, reading, and entertaining family and friends. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Molly Ockett chapter of the DAR, and the First Congregational Church of Bridgton. She had been a trustee of the Bridgton Library, and a deaconess in her church.

Jan was valedictorian of Crosby High School in the Waterbury, Conn. class of 1940. She attended Colby College and graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1944 with a BA in English. She earned a Master's of Education from the University of Maine in Orono, where she was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She had been chosen to write curriculum materials in the field of conservation at the Freeman Waterhouse Campus of University of Maine in Bryant Pond.  She had originally been sponsored by the Denmark Fish & Game Society. She taught in Hondo, Tex. during WW II, in Stores, Conn., at Bridgton Junior High for 14 years, and at Fryeburg Academy for 19 years, where she became chairman of the English department, retiring in 1987. While at Fryeburg, she started the Advanced Placement English program, the school literary magazine, and the Fryeburg Academy Teachers Association Christmas craft fair for their Ruth French scholarship fund. For five years she worked as an admissions counselor in the Distance Learning Program at St. Joseph's College, retiring in 1993.

A celebration of her life will be held at the First Congregational Church in Bridgton on Feb. 8, 2014 at 2:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her name may be made to the First Congregational Church of Bridgton (33 South High St., Bridgton, ME 04009), or to the Lakes Environmental Association (230 Main St., Bridgton, ME 04009).

Arrangements are made with Wood Funeral Home. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.woodfuneralhome.org