Janet A. Moorhead (85) of Plymouth NH passed away peacefully on March 7th, 2025, surrounded by family in the ICU at Dartmouth Hospital. 

Janet was born in Winthrop MA in 1939, the youngest of 4 children. Her parents, Richard M., and Hester E. (Vessey) Kempton moved the family from Massachusetts to Meredith, New Hampshire in 1950. She graduated from Meredith High School having been involved in sports and an honor roll student. 

As a young woman she attended Laconia School of Nursing and graduated in 1960. She was married to her first husband and had her first child, Douglas, in 1962. Her marriage dissolved a short time later. In 1969 she married her husband of 56 years, David A Moorhead. She met David at Lakes Region Divers Supply, and while he was much younger, they fell in love and were married in 1968. David was severely wounded in Vietnam, and she stood by him as he recovered from his extensive combat wounds. 

In 1969 she gave birth to her daughter Diane, the second of her two children. Once leaving Meredith the family moved about, settling in Wentworth NH during the 1970s. In 1977 the family relocated to Plymouth NH, where she lived for nearly half a century. 

Janet always had a love of horses. She had her own horse “Cement Mixer” in Wentworth NH. She always looked forward to going to horse competitions with her daughter Diane. She encouraged Dianes’ equine interests and took countless photos of her jumping and competing.

Gardening was one of Janets hobbies over her lifetime. She created her own hybrid day lilies and grew many types of Hostas, Iris, and Lilies, just to name a few. For decades, if you walked past her home on Hawthorne Street in the summer she could be seen out weeding and caring for her flowers. She was eager to show anyone who passed by her latest creation, and she would dig up seedlings for you if you wanted to start your own garden. She was very generous in sharing her garden with local school children and garden clubs – many of her seedlings have been planted throughout the Plymouth area and beyond.

When she was middle aged, she went back to school and studied Fine Arts at Plymouth State College. Janet had many artistic talents - seamstress, painting, and the list goes on. She was a wonderful photographer and spent countless hours photographing local sports teams for the local newspaper. For years she had her own dark room in her house! She was named NH Amateur Photographer of the Year and won the Clark Award for Photography along with numerous ribbons at the Sandwich fair. 

Above all, Janet loved her family. She researched genealogy and was very interested in her ancestors. She lovingly took care of her husband David for over half a century, and raised her two children, Douglas and Diane, providing love, understanding and encouraging them into productive adulthood. 

She loved her grandchildren, Tyson Amburg of Bristol NH, Tristan (Amberg) Montoya and her husband Eli Montoya of Pensacola FL, Amelia Moorhead and her husband Jose Rosa of Keene NH and Aden Scribner of Plymouth NH. She was able to welcome and spend time with her first great-grandchild, Jaxon Montoya, who provided unmeasurable happiness and joy in her life over the past few years. 

She is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Dorothy and Barbara and brother Robert. She is survived by her husband David A. Moorhead, son Douglas Moorhead and his wife Claire, her daughter Diane Berube and her husband Richard, her grandchildren and many nieces and nephews scattered about the country. 

A celebration of Janets’ life will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate donations to Becky’s Gift Equine Relief (beckysgift.org) or to the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative and Hospice Care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/jack-byrne-center).

A Celebration of Janets' life will be held on Saturday, April 19,2025 at the Dupuis Funeral Home, 11 Hill Avenue in Ashland.  Calling hours will be from 3:00 - 4:30pm, with a short service to follow from 4:30 - 5:00pm.  A reception will immediately follow the service.