Janet A. Lepanto Obituary

Janet Ann Lepanto, longtime resident of Lynnfield and Rockport, MA, died on August 11, 2024, at Sunrise Assisted Living in Lynnfield from a long illness. She was 69 years old.

Janet grew up in Glen Cove, NY, where she enjoyed swimming and sailing on Long Island Sound. Upon graduation from Glen Cove High School, she enrolled at Mount Holyoke College, majoring in Mathematics and Physics. Janet earned her Master's in Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University. She worked her entire career at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA. Janet began her tenure as an engineer in the controls group, focusing on control strategies for space vehicles with flexible appendages. She then transferred to the Programs Department, where her skill in writing proposals brought in many contracts, which she also managed.

Janet loved dogs, sailing, and gardening. She read voraciously her entire life, making her a skillful writer. She enjoyed traveling for pleasure. Janet's favorite destinations were Key West in the winter and Santa Fe in all seasons. Janet and her husband also enjoyed cruising up the northeast coast to Maine in their 39-foot ketch, visiting their favorite port, Pulpit Harbor, on North Haven Island.

Janet is survived by her husband of 39 years, Rick Metzinger; her sisters, Joanne Lepanto (Craig Roach), Jeanette Urke (Eric), and Jennifer Ferrara (Joseph); her niece, Jeanette Ferrara (Timothy Woollins); and her stepchildren, Susan Metzinger and Jane Soule (Ben).

She was predeceased by her parents, Arthur and Annabelle (Cobb) Lepanto of Glen Cove, NY.