Janet Marion (Baldwin) Panagore

May 31, 1931 – May 23, 2026

Janet Marion (Baldwin) Panagore, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, nurse, artist, gardener, reader, advocate, and friend, passed away peacefully in her family's loving embrace, just one week shy of her 95th birthday.

Born in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada, to William Clarence Baldwin and Etheline Frances Hanlon Baldwin (Yankees working abroad), Janet would later laugh with her characteristic wry humor about having lived unaware of her status as an “illegal alien” in the United States from 1934 until she finally became an American citizen in 1969, but remained proudly Canadian-American.

Janet grew up in Marlborough, Massachusetts, alongside her older sister Laura, and graduated from Marlborough High School, Class of 1949, where she met the love of her life, Peter Panagore. Together, they built a marriage that lasted sixty-eight years, filled with devotion, family, humor, perseverance, and love.

Janet graduated as a Registered Nurse from Worcester Memorial Hospital and worked in the operating room at Marlborough Hospital. She loved to tell the story of how she held a beating human heart in her hand during open-heart surgery. Over the years, she also worked with children with special needs, served as a substitute school nurse, and later joined Peter at Panagore Associates, the family architectural business, managing the books and the office. Intelligent, organized, and determined, Janet was a tenacious advocate for the Marlborough Public Library, serving as chair of the Friends of the Library for a decade.

Family was the center of Janet’s life. She created a home where Sunday dinners after church, holiday gatherings, picnics, vacations, and birthdays became lifelong memories. Her children remember her homemade birthday cakes, which she baked especially for each child each year; summer days spent swimming in the Cold River along the Mohawk Trail; vacations to Cape Cod and, later, to Florida; and family drives for ice cream — her favorite flavor was black raspberry. She delighted, and shared, in simple pleasures: cucumbers fresh from the garden with a sprinkle of salt, reading mysteries on the beach, knitting hats and mittens, listening to Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, and 40's Big Band, birdwatching, gardening, painting in oils and watercolors, and making holidays feel magical for everyone around her.

Janet especially loved summers on Cape Cod, where early family days were spent wading at Sunken Meadow Beach in North Eastham and, in later years, at Corporation Beach, where they swam, explored tide pools, sunbathed, and had ice cream at the snack bar. She and Peter enjoyed their retirement years together at their Dennis retirement home until Peter’s passing in 2021.

For the past several years, Janet lived at Cornerstone at Milford Assisted Living, where her warmth, kindness, humor, and bright smile endeared her to residents and staff alike.

Janet is survived by her children, Cynthia Griffin and her husband, Jeffrey Griffin, of Milford, Massachusetts; Peter Panagore and his wife, Michelle Miclette, of East Boothbay, Maine; David Panagore of Provincetown, Cape Cod; and Melissa Coffee and her partner, Kyle Coffee, of Smithfield, Rhode Island; her grandchildren, Alexandra Panagore and her partner, Rob Cronk, of Southport Island, Maine; Andreas Panagore and his wife, Kai Panagore, of Roanoke, Virginia; and her great-grandchildren, Ceci Panagore Jackson of Southport Island and Dimitri and Raphine Panagore of Roanoke; her much-loved nephews and nieces; and the many people whose lives were quietly enriched by her generosity, compassion, intelligence, creativity, and steady love.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Peter Panagore; her parents, William and Ethylene Baldwin; her sister, Laura Baldwin Pitard; her beloved eldest daughter, Andrea; her cherished dogs, Koko and Pepper; and her cat, Katie.

Her family grieves her loss deeply, yet they remain profoundly grateful for the long and beautiful life she lived, the love she gave so freely, and the enduring memories she leaves behind at every family table, on every garden path, on every beach walk filled with dry humor.

The family will receive guests at 10 am, and a service will follow at 1030 in the funeral home.

 Burial will follow at the Southborough Rural Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Marlborough Public Library in the name of Janet Panagore.