Janet von Wettberg Cowles died September 25, 2020 in her sleep at the age of 84. Born to Eduard Feltberg von Wettberg Jr. and Agnes (Brodie) von Wettberg, she grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1954, with a B.A. from Middlebury College in 1958, and M.A.T. from Radcliffe College in 1959. A year later Jan married Frederic (Ted) Morgan Cowles III and they raised their family in Simsbury. She worked as a high school guidance counselor at Northwest Regional School #7 for 24 years and was an active member of St. Alban’s Church in Simsbury for over 50 years teaching Sunday School for young adults and leading outreach efforts. Jan tutored English as a second language and mentored a young girl from Hartford through Covenant to Care for Children. She also enjoyed knitting, spending time with her grandchildren, and being at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.
She is survived by children Laura Hobbs of Middletown, Adine Watkins of Indianapolis, and Frederic Morgan (Rick) Cowles IV of Canton, grandchildren Kaitlin and Courtney Cowles, Colin Hobbs, and Avery and Joanna Watkins. Jan was predeceased by her husband who died in May 2020, by her brother Eduard (Ted) Feltberg von Wettberg III, and her sister Laura Anne von Wettberg.
A memorial service will be held at St. Alban’s Church at a date to be
announced later. Donations in Jan’s memory would be gratefully appreciated to Covenant to Care for Children at https://covenanttocare.org/ or Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton at https://www.roaringbrook.org.
For Laura, Deanie and Rick,
I was so sad to read of your mother's passing, but certainly a peaceful one, and so soon after that of your dad must be especially hard. I cherish the memories our families shared while we were living on W. Mtn Rd. I remember Jan asking me to please not be outside painting our house when Ted drove by at the end of the day. He would then suggest that she help out with the same task at your house, which she hated! We giggled about that. When we were accidentally locked out while Alex was still a toddler, Ted boosted Rick up to climb in a bedroom window. Alex still remembers the ride R…