SHELBURNE, Vt. – Janet Perrigo Brown-Wolff died in Burlington, Vt. on Jan. 1, 2021 at the age of 90 years. She was born in Houlton to Ellis and Janie Perrigo. She attended public schools in Bangor, Hallowell and Augusta. She attended Colby College in Waterville; Cornel University-New York Hospital School of Nursing in New York City; University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt.; and Boston University School of Nursing, Boston. In 1985, she received her doctoral degree from the School of Education at Boston University.

From 1953-1999, she was employed in Massachusetts hospitals; in Public Health in Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont; in Community Health Agencies, in Massachusetts and Vermont; in institutions of higher learning in Massachusetts and Vermont; and as a Health Promotion Coordinator for four independent living facilities for elders in Vermont.

In 1973, she was hired by the University of Vermont and the Burlington Visiting Nurse Association to create one of the first nurse practitioner programs in New England. At the University of Vermont, she served as a tenured associate professor of nursing from 1985 – 1996.

In 1990, she spent a sabbatical at the National Council on Aging in Washington, D.C. She was affiliated with the Adult Day Care Division and assisted in defining the services to be provided by an Adult Day Care (ADC) Program; drawing up the guidelines for Adult Day Care facilities; and contributed to the development of teaching materials for caregivers within ADC facilities. She was an active member of Chapter C of the PEO, and Kappa Tau Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, the Honor Society for Nurses. In 1997, she was awarded the “Excellence in Nursing Education Award:. In 2003 she won an award from “Burlington Blooms” for the most original/diverse garden, and in 2009 she was named “The Vermont Mother of the Year”.

She is survived by her daughter J. Casey Gershon and husband Richard Gershon, Kalamazoo, Mich.; her sons James Brown, Essex Junction, Vt., Samuel Brown and his wife Deana Brown, St. Albans, Vt., and Anthony Brown and his wife Margaret, Colchester, Vt.; in addition, her stepdaughter, Jacqueline Hatzis and family; stepsons, Dr. John and Dr. Jeffrey Wolff and their families of South Burlington, Vt. and Pittsburgh Pa.; 12 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Janet is also survived by one sibling, Marion L. Evans of Florissant, Mo., and her family; her sister-in-law, Carlyn Perrigo of Wadsworth, Ohio, and her family; sister-in-law, Lois Brown of Concord, N.H., and her family; and many nieces, nephews, cousins; former students and friends.

She is predeceased by her beloved husband John L Wolff Jr.; her father and mother; brother, Dr. Earl S. Perrigo; an infant son, Francis Ellis Brown; stepdaughter, Lynn Newton; and former husband, Samuel G Brown II.

Funeral services will be held at the First Congregational Church, 38 So. Winooski Ave., Burlington, Vt. on a date when family and friends can be together to honor her in accordance to her wishes. Janet will be interned at the Pine Grove Cemetery in Manchester, N.H.

Arrangements are in care of the Ready Funeral and Cremation Service, Burlington, VT. To send online condolences to her family please visit http://www.readyfuneral.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the

Health and Wellness Committee of the Fort Myers Congregational UCC,

8210 College Parkway,

Fort Myers, FL 33919

or to the

YETS (Youth Experience in Travel + Service) Program, First Congregational Church,

38 So. Winooski Ave.,

Burlington, VT 05401.