Peacham, VT -- Jean Sanderson Boardman died peacefully January 14, 2013, in her beloved home in Peacham, Vermont. Born April 15, 1920, in Lawrence, Kansas to Lucille Harris Sanderson and Ross Warren Sanderson, Sr., Jean grew up in Wichita, Kansas; White Plains, New York; and Baltimore, Maryland, where she graduated from Forest Park High School in 1937. She graduated from Oberlin College in 1941 and then attended Chicago Theological Seminary. Jean married Howard F. Boardman, a fellow Oberlin classmate, in June 1942. Together they served churches in Windham, Maine; Rutland, New York; North Amherst and North Hadley, Massachusetts; Newton, Iowa; Summit, New Jersey; and Strafford, Vermont. While they lived in Newton Centre, Massachusetts (1959-1973), Jean was Administrative Assistant to the Metropolitan Boston Association, of the United Church of Christ, and on moving to New Jersey she served in a similar capacity in New Jersey area offices of the United Church s Central Atlantic Conference. Affectionately dubbed Mrs. Minister s Wife by an early parishioner, Jean perfectly filled this role with grace, humor, intelligence, elbow grease and tact. As one friend said, she had, a tremendous ability to enter into activities, yet not run them, to back every idea with thought and work and no criticism. And could she sing! - raising the rafters on a Sunday morning with her glorious soprano voice. Cherishing the young and the young at heart, Jean joyfully gathered in her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as any of their friends who found their way to her. She enthusiastically attended as many of their sporting events, concerts, and theatrical performances as she was able, and exacted detailed reports on those she missed. Often she was found following on TV the fates of her favorite tennis players or her grandchildren s favorite teams. An enthusiastic traveler, each summer found the family singing its way over the countryside as Jean and Howard took their girls on a month-long car trip. They visited as many places, relatives, and friends as they could, camping, hiking, swimming, horseback riding, canoeing, and so forth, as opportunity arose. When she and Howard became seniors, Elderhostels beckoned and they responded, experiencing such places as Leadville, Colorado and similar mining ghost towns across the West. A spirited activist, Jean worked throughout her life for peace, civil rights, women s rights, and justice for the politically, socially, and economically oppressed, both near at hand and in far away places. Her faith and resolve took her to Central America; to Selma, Alabama; to Washington, DC; to New York City; and to many other places where she believed she could positively effect change. After Howard s death in 1994, Jean traveled with friends or family to see more of the country and the world. At 76 she trained for and participated in an Elderhostel bike trip in Denmark. On her 80th birthday she was riding a camel in the Sahara while visiting grandchildren in Morocco. Oberlin theater trips took her to London, England, and at other times she traveled to Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Turkey. She attended grandchildren s college graduations in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and Oregon, and visited friends and family in Iowa, Maryland, many parts of New England, and Ontario. A stay-at-home Grandma she was not! Jean volunteered with the League of Women Voters, Campfire Girls, the North Country Coalition, the Peacham Library Board, the Vermont Conference of the United Church, to name a few. She also served as a church deacon, a Justice of the Peace (she performed the marriage ceremony for grandson Tristan and Kate Wearn), a Guardian Ad Litem, an Equal Rights Amendment activist, a hospice volunteer and the list goes on. As a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, she was generous with her time, her attention, her patience, her humor, and her wisdom. And despite the many provocations of her husband and children, among others, she faced all challenges with equanimity and with a twinkle in her eye. Those who knew her found her combination of wisdom, selflessness and unconditional love to be singular, and she will be dearly missed. Jean was predeceased by her husband, her mother, her father, her brother Ross and her sister Mary Alice. She is survived by three daughters, Barbara Hoffman of Cuttingsville, VT, Elizabeth Betsy Smith of Peacham, VT and Niagra on the Lake, Ontario, and Rebecca Becky Boardman of West Barnet, VT, sons-in-law Jack Hoffman, Julian Smith, and Dennis Kauppila, grandchildren Tristan Smith, Adam Smith, Dylan Smith, Jesse Kauppila, Lincoln Smith, Liza Hoffman, Rachel Kauppila and Luke Hoffman, great grandchildren Elliot Smith, Jasper Smith, and Conrad Smith, nieces and nephews and their families. A service in celebration of her life will be held at 3:00 PM, Saturday, May 4, 2013 at North Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Jean rarely wore black: we will celebrate her life wearing the bright colors she enjoyed so much. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to: North Congregational Church, 72 Main Street, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819; Caledonia Home Health, 161 Sherman Drive, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819; or to Oberlin College at http://new.oberlin.edu/office/development/donate/.