Jean C. Semonite, of Yarmouth, loving wife, mother, and friend, died peacefully but unexpectedly on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, surrounded by family. After 94 years, that day was her time.
Jean was born in Chicago in 1929 and raised in Cranford, NJ, the daughter of Hugh Roderick Carr and N. Bessie Carr. Jean graduated from Wells College with a music degree and performed extensively as a soprano.
In 1954, she married David Semonite, graduate of Princeton University, and veteran of the Korean War, also of Cranford. They started their married life in Old Saybrook, then moved to Ivoryton, Connecticut, where Dave worked for a manufacturer of helicopter blades and Jean was a customer service agent for the local phone company. After having daughter Leigh and then son Ned, Dave took a new job in South Carolina. Daughter Ann was born in Clemson. Next, they moved to Sherborn, Massachusetts, in 1960 and then to Yarmouth, Maine, in 1965. Even before moving to Maine, they traveled to Long Island in Casco Bay, where David had spent summers with his grandmother and developed his love of boats. A series of family cottages and boat moorings became the thread that tied distant family members together, and indeed continues now to the 6th generation. Dave retired in 1991 and passed in 2002. Jean lived independently in their last home for 47 years until her dying day.
Jean had many interests. She was a prolific reader and had a tradition of gifting books to family members for birthdays and Christmas. David introduced her to sailing and boats, which they both loved. One of the family jokes is that if we weren’t sailing, we were talking about sailing. Jean also was an accomplished seamstress and knitter. She sewed clothes, curtains, covered cushions, and more. She was constantly knitting, creating sweaters, scarves, and hats for family or for donation to church craft fairs. Jean also enjoyed cooking, and gardening in her yard and at Long Island.
Jean spent a sizeable amount of time and energy volunteering for community groups. She was a leader in Yarmouth’s Village Improvement Society for more than 50 years, driving the establishment of open spaces, historical renovations, and researching origins of colonial homes. She worked with the Yarmouth Health Council, Yarmouth Historical Society, neighborhood associations, and various groups that her children were involved with as they grew up.
Jean had a passion for music. Trained as a classical singer, she sang in all her church choirs, most recently at First Parish Yarmouth. She also was a skilled pianist. She bought a baby grand piano right after college when everyone else was buying a car. David always complained that they could never live in an apartment because they needed room for the piano. Jean loved classical music performances and was a longtime supporter of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. She passed this and many of her other passions on to her children and grandchildren.
Jean and Dave had a love for boating, especially sailing, and were longtime members of the Portland Yacht Club. In addition to racing, they also sailed their boats extensively along the coast of Maine as well as having other sailing adventures around the world, including Scotland, Finland, the Med, the Caribbean and along the USA’s east coast. After David’s retirement, they traveled extensively around Europe and took long car trips in the US.
As the last family member of her generation, family was of utmost importance, and she fulfilled the role of matriarch with enthusiasm.
She is survived by her daughter, Leigh Palmer and her husband Jim of Yarmouth, son Ned Semonite and his wife Betsy, of Bedford, MA, and daughter Ann Semonite of Brunswick. She loved her grandchildren: Libby (Palmer) OConnor and her husband Clarence, Alan Palmer and his wife Meghan, Ben Palmer, Stuart Semonite, and Margot Semonite. Jean was delighted with the recent arrival of three great-grandchildren: Lily and Isabella Jean Palmer, and Madeleine OConnor.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, April 5 at 2 PM at First Parish Church, 116 Main Street, Yarmouth, Maine. The service will be live streamed at https://www.firstparishyarmouth.org/worship. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Yarmouth Historical Society or Long Island Civic Association.
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