10/15/1932 – 4/25/2023
OLD LYME — Janet Anne Elizabeth “Jan” Simpson Hine, 90, of Sill Lane, Old Lyme, died in her home Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Jan was born in Bedford (UK), Oct. 15, 1932, the daughter of Charles John Simpson and Annie Elizabeth Smith.
She attended the Bath Academy of Art in Corsham (Wiltshire) and London University, graduating in 1955. While teaching art in Wolverhampton and Peterborough, she met her husband, Jonathan, in Palma de Mallorca. Lieutenant-Commander Hine was Executive Officer of USS The Sullivans (DD-537) at the time. After two years of correspondence, they were married in the Unitarian church in Cambridge (UK). Jonathan had grown up in Cambridge, Mass., and served in World War II and Korea in submarines and surface ships. The newlyweds settled in Washington, D.C., where they had two sons, Charles (1958) and William (1960).
When Jonathan retired from active duty in 1961, they moved to Old Lyme. Jan felt at home immediately in a town with the spirit of Corsham, where she had studied art. She developed the Friends of Lyme Academy of Art and worked for many years with the Friends of the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library in Old Lyme. Her third son, Jack, was born in 1970, as they completed the house on Sill Lane where Jan would spend the rest of her life.
Jan was active in her community with various organizations about which she felt passionate including Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut, Duck River Garden Club, Library Garden Friends, the Connecticut College Arboretum, Friends of Harkness Memorial State Park, Friends of Connecticut State Parks, and All Souls Unitarian Church. For ten years, while working at the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center, she managed a small grant for the CT Parent Training and Information Center. The manual she wrote for parents of students with disabilities on making the transition from school to work had three editions. She also edited and produced the CPAC newsletter.
After almost fifty years of marriage, she lost her husband in 2007. Jan is survived by her three sons, Charles Lanman Hine (wife Kim Farnsworth) of Wethersfield, William Thomas Hine of New London, and John Simpson (Jack) Hine (wife Allison) of Old Lyme; and grandchildren, Isabella and Leland; along with her stepsons, Jonathan Jr. of Norfolk, Va., and David (wife Sally) of Chester, N.Y., and their families.
Burial will be private. A celebration of her life will take place at 1 p.m. May 18, at All Souls Unitarian Church in New London. A garden reception will follow (rain or shine) at her home, 67 Sill Lane, in Old Lyme. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Janet A.E. Hine may be sent to: Joubert Syndrome Foundation & Related Cerebellar Disorders, PO Box #84 Spokane, WA 99210; https://jsrdf.org/ OR All Souls UU Congregation Building Fund, 19 Jay Street, New London, CT 06320; http://www.allsoulsnewlondon.org.