Lebanon, ME – Janice Pauline Cook, 85, of Lebanon, ME died peacefully Monday, February 27, 2012 at the Hyder Family Hospice House in Dover, NH following a brief period of failing health. Born in Lebanon, Maine on August 27, 1926, Janice was the daughter of Edward and Edith (Whitehouse) Osgood.

Janice grew up in Lebanon, ME, advancing through school quickly in a one-room school house where she was able to complete more than one grade in a single year. Her family moved across the border to Milton, NH shortly before she began attending the University of NH. Jan graduated UNH with a teaching degree at the age of 20 and headed off to start her career, landing first in Cape Cod, MA. Janice met Roy Cook during this period and they were married in March of 1950. Jan and Roy later settled in Milford NH where she embarked on a lengthy career as a physical education teacher.

Janice and Roy were extremely hard workers, but enjoyed an active social life during their free time. Having made countless wonderful friends in Milford over the years, they were proud to entertain in the beautiful home they built themselves. To this day friends and family remember fondly countless barbecues around Jan’s backyard swimming pool, spirited cribbage matches punctuated by Jan and Roy’s hilarious story telling and snowmobiling trips starting from their back yard.

As a teacher Janice was respected by her fellow teachers and much loved by many students. She was devoted to the athletic department, loved coaching the basketball team, and put her imagination to great use in countless theatrical productions. Jan was a teacher in Milford for more than forty years, and kept in close contact with former students and colleagues following retirement. As recently as this past November Janice had visited with some of her old teacher friends to reminisce, something which she enjoyed so much.

Jan was a devoted grandmother and loved her only grandson, Julian, very much. Over the years Jan and Julian spent a great deal of time together, and she and Roy delighted in hosting his friends for pool parties, movie nights and video games in their basement. In their retirement time spent with their grandson was one of their greatest joys, and he was a frequent visitor to their house through high school and when he was home from college.

Janice and Roy moved back to Lebanon, Maine in 2008 to be nearer to their son, who had settled on the site of Janice’s parent’s cottage on Milton Three Ponds. With their son’s help, Jan and Roy designed a home that suited their changing needs, of which they were so proud. Unfortunately Roy was not able to enjoy the new home for long, passing away in February of 2009. Janice desperately missed her partner of nearly sixty years, but never failed to seek the joys found in her friends and family.

During her final years Jan was attended to daily by her devoted son Dick. Living just a few miles down the road from Jan, Dick and his wife visited her on a daily basis and helped ensure she was comfortable, happy and as independent as possible in her own home. Surviving members of Janice’s family include: her son Richard Cook and his wife Emily of Lebanon, ME; one grandson, Julian Cook and his wife Beth of Kissimmee, FL; two great grandchildren, Jack and Max Cook of Kissimmee, FL; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A private graveside service will be held at the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Lebanon, ME later in the spring. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Hyder Family Hospice House, 285 County Farm Rd., Dover, NH 03820. To leave an online condolence, including any memories you have of Janice, please visit H.J. Grondin & Son’s website at http:// www.grondinfuneralhome.com.