Jackson Community Church

Here is the biography shared by her family: Mary Francoise Paul Howe of Jackson, NH died suddenly on December 4, 2019 at a youthful 84 years old.
  Mary was born on September 5, 1935 in Philadelphia, PA. Her parents had immigrated to the US from Normandy, France the year before her birth. During WWII they moved to Montreal, Canada. When Mary was a teenager the family moved to Denver, CO. She attended Kent Denver Country Day School for Girls, where she was a member of International Relations Club with her friend and classmate, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. After graduating, she attended Pembroke College in Providence, RI.    In her 20s, Mary was living in Cambridge, MA and joined friends on trips to Overlook, the Howe family summer home, in Jackson, NH, where she met John Howe. They discovered a shared passion for fly-fishing, went out fly-fishing together, and fell in love.    They married in Ann Arbor, MI in 1961. In marrying John, Mary gained two stepsons, Andrew and Nathaniel. Daughter Catherine (Cuppy) was born the following September. They moved to Fairbanks, AK, where John worked on early weather satellite research. Mary took classes at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, including silver working. In 1965, they moved to Annapolis, MD, where daughter Lucy was born. Next they moved to Acton, MA where John worked for GE on early nuclear submarine development. In 1969 John and Mary decided to return to Jackson and live year-round at Overlook, while John worked as an engineer at the Mount Washington Observatory until his retirement.    Mary began raising sheep, chickens, pigs and other animals and had expansive and chaotic vegetable gardens. She encouraged her daughters to participate in all of these endeavors. Cuppy and Lucy also remember many messy finger painting projects on the kitchen floor in their underpants. The family frequently hiked in the Presidential Range and sailed off the coast of Maine. Mary loved to travel and was lucky enough to have friends and family who were willing to take care of her daughters while she went off on adventures.    Once her daughters left home, Mary got involved in local politics. She was on the school board and the conservation board. She was part of a local bird watching group. John retired in 1988 and they bought and refurbished Vixen,an old wooden sailboat. They lived aboard for several years, sailing between Maine and the Bahamas, their grand adventure. It was at this time Mary began painting.    In recent years, Mary was active in the Jackson arts community and her painting career flourished. She was an early supporter of the Tin Mountain Conservation Center and an avid birder. She was also a member of a French Club and the Jackson Community Church and its poetry group. Her most recent passion was learning to play classical guitar.    Aside from her husband, John, she leaves behind her sister Annick Paul Lopez, daughters, Catherine (Cuppy) and her husband, Dick Gordon, of Wellesley, MA; and Lucy and her husband, Reese Hersey, of East Calais, VT; as well as her stepsons, Andrew Howe and his wife, Gay, of Jackson, NH; and Nathaniel Howe and his wife, Pamela Hitchcock, of Belfast, ME. Additionally, she leaves her seven adored grandchildren, Whitney and Spencer Howe; Molly Howe and her husband, Jake Newton; John (Gus), Charlie, and Sam Gordon; and Ogden (Noggo) Hersey.    A service will be held at the Jackson Community Church Saturday, December 21 at 2:00. All are welcome. Donations can be made in her memory to Tin Mountain Conservation Center, Albany, NH at tinmountain.org