Jon Kent Cianchette

SCARBOROUGH – Jon Kent Cianchette passed away Friday August 9, 2024, at Gosnell Hospice House after spending several months in the hospital due to Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) and other illnesses.

He was born in Waterville on March 13, 1958, the middle child of Kenneth and Evelene (Lancaster) Cianchette. Jon was a charming and precocious child who was reading from the family’s encyclopedias when he was only 4 years old. He was born gifted with natural athleticism, an uncanny ability to memorize numbers and facts, and charisma which caused him to make friends easily throughout his life.

Jon loved to go fast – on water, on snow, on and off roads, and in the air. He was a born daredevil and thrill seeker, whether in a car, boat or airplane, on a motorcycle or on skis.

He skied fast – through slalom and giant slalom gates all over New England, down the Pinnacle’s headwall and any place he found snow. Many people will remember Jon jumping off the “bowl” and doing aerial tricks on very long Rossignol Strato102s as a teenager. He won many medals, trophies and ski meets at the Pinnacle Ski Hill in Pittsfield, and around the state of Maine and New England. He was also an accomplished candlepin bowler, winning many singles and doubles championships in Maine, and qualifying for the Worlds Championships in Massachusetts. As a teenager he also learned to fly airplanes and even to jump out of them.

Growing up on Unity Pond, he loved sailing, waterskiing, fishing and jumping off the trestle. He later spent time in the Florida Keys, where he enjoyed snorkeling and fishing with his father and Uncle Norris. In 2019 he was still snorkeling – off his sister Jane’s boat in Casco Bay.

In 1990 Jon married Maureen Cullinan and they had two beautiful children, Sean Patrick and Erin Marie. They were the light of his life. He was particularly proud of their service to our country, Sean in the Marine Corps and Erin in the Army Reserves. Jon was so happy to spend time with both of his children and their partners, and to meet Erin’s new puppy Goose a few days before he passed away.

Jon is survived by his children, Erin Cianchette and her fiancé Matt Martin of Windham, and Sean Cianchette of Merritt Island, Fla. He is also survived by his four siblings, Eric (Peggy) of Falmouth, Jane (John) Linscott of Fort Myers, Fla. and Yarmouth, Ann of North Yarmouth, and Jean (Bill) Bradshaw of Yarmouth; several nieces and nephews; and over two dozen cousins. He was predeceased by his parents and four cousins.

Jon’s family would like to express deep gratitude to his good friend Alanna Page for all the love and care she gave him over the past few years.

There will be no visiting hours. A service will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, August 16, 2024, at the Shorey-Nichols Funeral Home, 191 Hartland Ave., Pittsfield, ME. He will be buried near his parents in the Pittsfield Village Cemetery.