Jeanne “Jan” Ritter Wentling
FALMOUTH – Jeanne “Jan” Knight Wentling, 75, died peacefully in her sleep on Thursday November 17, 2022, at home in her bed, with love and light to comfort her.
Jan was born on August 1, 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Richard N. and Ann (Philbrick) Knight. She had two brothers, Richard Newman and John Philbrick. Growing up, Jan attended the Agnes Irwin School where she discovered her love for lacrosse and field hockey, in which she was an All-American. Jan studied interior design at Bradford College and graduated from the University of Denver where she met the love of her life, Joseph “Joe” D. Wentling III. They married on June 13, 1970 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and moved there shortly thereafter to begin their life together.
Jan’s love of art and beauty merged with a lifelong love of gardening and design. She studied at Longwood Gardens and the Barnes Foundation in Pennsylvania and developed a love for landscape design and floral arrangements. A member of garden clubs wherever she lived, Jan started a small landscaping business in both Pennsylvania and Maine. She enjoyed volunteering, including decades of volunteering at Paoli Memorial Hospital, as well as altar guilds and floral arrangements for the numerous churches to which she belonged. An avid skier, dancer and golfer, Jan was proud of her two hole-in-ones! She loved to travel and find the gardens wherever she was in the world.
Jan spent the summers on Chebeague Island at her longtime family’s summer home, where she formed lifelong friends. In 2007 Jan and Joe moved to Pownal permanently to be closer to their children, grandchildren and the island. She spent her final years as a resident at OceanView in Falmouth. The staff and their close friends there became a second family for Jan that she looked forward to every day. She taught us all to seek, find and create happiness and sunshine.
Predeceased by her adoring husband Joe, Jan is survived by daughter Polly Fisk Wentling Wentworth (Kevin) of Chebeague Island, son Benjamin Crouse Wentling (Leah) of Cumberland; four grandchildren, Alden, Olivia, Clara and Amelia; Brothers Richard N. Knight III (Lynne), John P. Knight (Yvonne); and eight nieces and nephews. The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 10 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 43 Foreside Rd., Falmouth, ME 04105 with a reception held at the church immediately afterwards. There will be a memorial service and ashes distribution on Chebeague Island on August 5, 2023.
Condolences can be expressed at FuneralAlternatives.net
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the
experiment in international life,
PO Box 676,
1 Kipling Rd,
Brattleboro, VT05302; or
Chebeague Community Church,
mailbox 1,
Chebeague Island, ME 04017
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