Jean Pilibosian, 85, passed gently on December 23, 2018, at Cove’s Edge, Damariscotta.

Jean was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts, on April 12, 1933, to Katherine (Howe) and Elliott Perry. She lived in Wellesley throughout her childhood and early adulthood, marrying George Pilibosian in 1957. They raised their children, Karen, Kathe, and George, in Wellesley and Concord, Massachusetts.

Jean was gifted with extraordinary artistic talent and a lifelong passion for all things creative. Everything she touched became beautiful in her hands. She was a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and worked as a graphic designer. Her children recall seeing the company logos and signs she created on her drawing board whizzing by on trucks and on businesses throughout their community.

She was an accomplished ballerina and taught ballet for years. She sewed many of her and her family’s clothes and designed elegant interiors for the family homes, and for the family’s oriental rug shop in various locations. She was passionate about architecture and was always “dreaming up” a plan for the next antique home project—be it a room or a whole house.

She possessed equal passion for her family and raising her children. Her mother’s sisters, her aunts Alice, Grace, and Dorothy, along with her mother, lived within a stone’s throw of her well into her adulthood, and she cared for them all as they aged. She supported her children with love and in every other way, from ensuring that they pursued the finest educations possible to encouraging them to participate in any interest they were passionate about, including driving to endless lessons of every sort and cheerfully hosting a backyard full of ducks and horses and a house full of cats and dogs. She was a great lover of animals.

Jean also loved Christmas and all the trimmings; her holidays were full of wonderful decorations, food, and gifts for everyone. Her Christmas morning breakfasts were a highlight every year.

Jean and George discovered New Harbor, Maine, calling it “the most beautiful place on earth,” when their children were babies and spent decades vacationing there. Eventually, the family purchased a summer home in New Harbor, and Jean and George moved to Glidden Street, Newcastle, Maine, from Concord in the 1980s. After George passed away in 1999, Jean lived in Walpole, Maine, for 11 years before moving to the Lincoln Home, beginning her heartbreaking 9-year struggle with Alzheimer’s.

She is survived by her children, Karen (Pilibosian) and Merle Thompson of New Harbor; Kathe Pilibosian and Chris Holley of New Harbor; George Pilibosian and Chris Kordis of Atlanta, Georgia; and her beloved granddaughter, Katherine Thompson, and her fiancé, Charlie Hudson, of Wiscasset, Maine.

Jean’s family would like to express gratitude to the staff of the Lincoln Home, Riverside at Chase Point, and Cove’s Edge for the exceptional care Jean received from the first day we stepped through the doors of each facility, and to the hospice staff of Maine Healthcare at Home for their gentle compassion and support. The kindness and attention given to the details of her care at every stage were unparalleled.

Burial at the New Harbor Cemetery will be private. There will be a gathering of friends and family in spring of 2019.

Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main Street, Damariscotta, ME 04543. Condolences, and messages for her family, may be expressed by visiting: www.StrongHancock.com.