Janet L. Grossman came from a long line of medical doctors in a family that valued education. It made sense, then, that she would go on to travel extensively and study design and architecture abroad, and later became the first woman in her family to earn a Ph.D., specializing in human resources and adult education at the Fielding Institute in California in the late 1980s.
She also loved taking photographs and could often be found in her home-built darkroom, developing her own black-and-white images. “She was always interested in people,” said her daughter, Brook Spencer of East Hampton, who remembered two specific photos: one of a young girl looking in the rearview mirror of a passing car, and the other of a child’s foot sticking out of a laundry bin.
Here in East Hampton, where she and her family settled in the early 1960s, Ms. Grossman felt inspired by the world of art and the women's movement to get involved in her community. She became active as a volunteer, devoting much of her time to the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society and helping, with her friend Deborah Light, to bring the Unitarian Universalist congregation to Odd Fellows Hall in East Hampton. Ms. Grossman also developed a variety of classes, workshops, and children's shows for Guild Hall, and later joined the Group for the South Fork, writing grant proposals.
Ms. Grossman died of pulmonary fibrosis at home in Sag Harbor on Aug. 27. She was 89.
She was born in Philadelphia in 1935, to Dr. Sigmund Greenbaum and the former Rae Refowich. She grew up there in a historic Victorian house called the 1801 Delancey. She attended Friends Select Quaker School in Philadelphia, then spent two years at the University of Michigan studying architecture and design, before becoming "restless to travel" and taking off for Europe, her daughter said.
After her stint in Europe, Ms. Grossman settled in New York City, staying at the women-only Barbizon Hotel and working at the Columbia Management Company. Mutual friends fixed her up on a date with Carlo Grossman. They married in February of 1959 and had two children in the early 1960s.
In East Hampton, Ms. Grossman kept company with a coterie of writers, artists, and entrepreneurs. Inspired by them, and by the ocean nearby, she went on to earn a master’s degree in photography from Goddard College in Vermont. She also loved to create needlepoint pillows, many of them featuring nature and animals. “There were lots of flowers and lions,” her daughter said.
Ms. Grossman and Mr. Grossman divorced in 1975. After this, Ms. Grossman moved to Durham, N.C., where she became an outplacement counselor at Duke University, helping students and peers seek new careers and pursue lifelong passions.
An animal lover, she had numerous Siamese cats over the years and a golden retriever named Junior. She enjoyed watching the sunrise and reading books of every genre.
Upon becoming a grandmother, Ms. Grossman moved back to the South Fork in 1993 and made Sag Harbor her home. Her grandchildren, Zachary Grossman and Carly Grossman, affectionately called her Jan Jan.
Ms. Grossman's parents, siblings, and former husband died before her. In addition to her daughter, her grandchildren, and her husband, David Jaycox, Ms. Grossman leaves a son, Jonathan Grossman and his spouse, Kim Grossman, of East Hampton.
The family is planning a memorial service in the spring. Memorial contributions have been suggested to the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry, 44 Union Street, Sag Harbor 11963.
