HAVERHILL - Rev. Janet H. Bowering, 83, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Thursday morning, July 17, 2014 at the Merrimack Valley Hospice House.

Janet was born and raised in upstate New York. She attended St. Lawrence Theological School and was ordained in 1952. She met her future husband, Vinton Bowering there and together they raised three children. Janet was passionate about religious education and viewed it as integral to ministry. She served as minister to three congregations, Kinston, NC, Tyngsborough, MA and Haverhill. As minister to the Haverhill Universalist Unitarian Church, she worked with the congregation from 1979-1996. Upon retirement, she moved to Plaistow, NH.

With her husband and children, she spent many summers doing various work projects and youth camps. Jan served on a variety of Unitarian Universalist boards and committees and was involved in a large range of issues. Equally committed to her community, she worked to establish both a temporary shelter for the homeless and a program to provide a food kitchen for the hungry. Her passion was to see new places and she made use of her vacation and sabbatical time to travel the world.

She was a talented artist, she painted beautiful watercolor and oil paintings and with her potter's wheel she designed lovely and useful creations. Since childhood she enjoyed sharing and displaying her wonderful foreign doll collection.

Her surviving family members include her loving children, Dawn Jordan and companion John Hyland of Haverhill, Diana Bowering of Malden and Alan Bowering and wife Leslie of Exeter, NH; granddaughter, Laura Morley and husband Matthew; great-grandson, William Morley.

Memorial Service will take place on Saturday, September 20 in the Universalist Unitarian Church of Haverhill, 15 Kenoza Avenue, Haverhill at 1:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Jan's memory to either the Universalist Unitarian Church of Haverhill ( www.uuhaverhill.org ); The Clara Barton Camp ( www.bartoncenter.org ); or the Merrimack Valley Hospice House ( www.homehealthfoundation.org/donate ).