People We've Lost

Janet Inez Hennigan, John Wilmerding, Penelope Childs Hinckley, John Grindle

May 04, 2025

Note: “People We’ve Lost” is a feature of the Bar Harbor Story where we share obituaries of people that the island lost in the previous 1-2 weeks. We’re doing this because we think everyone deserves to be remembered. If you have an obituary for a loved one or friend that you can’t afford to place in other spaces, please let us know and we’ll share it here for you.

JANET INEZ (CARTER) HENNIGAN

Trenton

Janet Inez Hennigan (aka Nana to all those who knew her), 83, passed away unexpectedly in her home on April 24, 2025. She was born on October 26, 1941, at home in Bar Harbor, the daughter of Maurice E. and Virginia A. Carter.

Janet graduated from Bar Harbor High School, class of 1959. Following graduation, she attended Radiology school in Boston. She spent her career as a CNA in both Maine and Massachusetts. She later married Ted Hennigan, and they had 5 children together. She was a member of the Red Hat Society for many years.

Janet is survived by her five children - Barbara of Trenton & N.C.; Ted and wife Trina of N.C.; Brian and wife Robin of Ellsworth; Mark and wife Pauline of Eddington and Kim Murphy of Bar Harbor; two sisters, Jean Harrington of Sunrise, FL; Lois Hennigan of Trenton; 6 grandchildren, Zach, Shaylene, Ashley and husband Richie, Lexi Vanzura and her husband Dane, Kendra, Brittany and husband Johnny; 9 great grandchildren, Sophie, Taylor, Madisyn, Ryker, Ellie, Kayzleigh, Tucker, Peyton and Raegan. She was predeceased by her parents, brother, Alden Carter, and grandson James Freedman.

A remembrance was held at Rocky Pond camp, which was her favorite place to gather with family. A celebration of life was held at the Elks Lodge in Ellsworth on April 29, 2025. Janet loved her family fiercely and cherished times when all her children and family were together.

A private burial will be held at a later date.

Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com

JOHN GRINDLE

Southwest Harbor

John Grindle, 72, died of natural causes April 22, 2025, at his home in Southwest Harbor. He was born Dec. 3, 1952, in Southwest Harbor, the son of Ralph M. and Ruth M. (Thurston) Grindle.

John graduated from MDI High School, Class of 1971. Following graduation, he served in the U.S. Army reserves. John returned home to become proprietor of Grindle’s Store on Main St. Southwest Harbor while sharing 25 years of marriage with Jeanne Grindle.

Later in life, John discovered his passion for carpentry and masonry. He worked for Hinckley Yachts for several years and later founded John’s Carpentry where his knowledge and meticulous attention to detail became well sought-after around town. John was a fun-loving family man who enjoyed boating, hiking, biking and working in his shop. His honesty and wisdom were shared with such ease, and his positive influence on those who knew him was uplifting and infectious.

John is survived by his son Paul and wife Ashlee, grandchildren Camden and Lyla, his sister RuthAnn “Sugar” Fenton and her husband Nathaniel Fenton, and many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held 2-4 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at Harbor Ridge, 39 Freeman Ridge Rd, Southwest Harbor, ME.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Southwest Harbor/Tremont Ambulance Fund, P.O. Box 437, Southwest Harbor, ME 04679, or Mount Desert Nursing Association, P.O. Box 397, Northeast Harbor, ME 04662.

Condolences may be expressed at www.acadiacremation.com.

Penelope Childs Hinckley

Southwest Harbor

Penelope Childs Hinckley passed away peacefully in Spartanburg, S.C., on April 18, 2025, surrounded by her sisters, Midge (Hinckley) Smith, Laurie (Hinckley) Towers, and Mary Anne Hinckley. Penny was born in Kansas City, Mo., on Sept. 16, 1943, to George Lyman and Mary Louise (Buck) Hinckley.She grew up in Melrose, Mass., and spent her summers in Southwest Harbor, Maine.

She attended Sargent College, graduating with a B.A. in Physical Education, and went on to work at high schools in Baltimore, Md., and Tacoma, Wash. She continued her education at the University of Connecticut with a master’s degree in counseling. In 1970, Penny began her career in college athletics at Princeton University, where she was instrumental in implementing Title IX. At Princeton, she was coordinator of Women’s Sports and coach of basketball, field hockey, and lacrosse.

In 1978, Penny accepted a position at Haverford College as senior women’s administrator and associate director of athletics. She also coached field hockey and lacrosse, and received the Cary Award for Outstanding Dedication and Achievement in Women’s Athletics. She retired from Haverford in 2006. Penny never gave up coaching, continuing to encourage and support young women to strive for success until the end of her life.

Everyone who met Penny soon learned of her deep love of boating and animals. She was never without her pets.

Penny is survived by her three sisters, several nieces and nephews, and their children. A family service will be held in Southwest Harbor, Maine, later. In lieu of flowers, a contribution in her memory may be made to your local animal shelter/humane society.

JOHN WILMERDING

Northeast Harbor

John Wilmerding, prolific author, esteemed professor, avid collector, generous philanthropist, and luminary in the history of American art passed away on June 6, at 86 years of age.

Educated at Saint Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and at Harvard University, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1960, his master's degree in 1961, and his PhD in 1965 in American art. Upon graduation, Professor Wilmerding taught at Dartmouth College until 1977, and then at Princeton University for 25 years as the Christopher Binyon Sarofim Professor of Art History. He had previously served as senior curator of American art from 1977 until 1983 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. From 1983 until 1988, he served as the museum's deputy director under J. Carter Brown. As a student, John Wilmerding had begun to collect American art while still an undergraduate at Harvard, and by 2004, he had assembled a world-class collection of 51 paintings and drawings by American masters such as Fitz Henry Lane, George Caleb Bingham, Winslow Homer and Thomas Eakins, among others. In May of 2004, at the National Gallery of Arts opening of the exhibition, "American Masters from Bingham to Eakins: The John Wilmerding Collection,” Professor Wilmerding announced that the collection would remain in perpetuity at the National Gallery, a significant gift to the nation. In 2016, Alice Walton and the Walton Family Foundation granted $10,000,000 to the National Gallery of Art to establish the John Wilmerding Fund for Education in honor of Professor Wilmerding's contribution to the National Gallery and to art history.

In Ms. Walton's words, "John has inspired generations of museum visitors to appreciate American art, and his contributions to the field are immeasurable and enduring. He was an insightful teacher, a trusted adviser, and simply a dear friend who helped me explore American art more broadly and create a new museum. John's impact in establishing Crystal Bridges was enormous, and I cherish our time working together."

Prof. Wilmerding's numerous books and articles helped define the nature of American art, a field that had been long neglected by scholars and collectors. In addition to his long teaching career, Professor Wilmerding served as a board member at many museums, some of which honored him by naming directorships and fellowships in his name. Among those institutions is the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, which established the John Wilmerding Directorship Fund, the Museum's first named position. A grandson of the Museum's founder, Electra Havemeyer Webb, Professor Wilmerding served as president of the Board of Trustees, and honorary chair of the Campaign for Shelburne Museum. Additional posts at universities and museums were; Emeritus Professor of American Art at Princeton University; member of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House; chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Art; trustee of the Guggenheim Museum; commissioner of The National Portrait Gallery; visiting curator in the Department of American Art at the Metropolitan Museum; senior curator of American art at the National Gallery; member of the Board of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art; board member at the Smithsonian Museum and Monticello, and a trustee of the College of The Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. Having given his collection of American art to the National Gallery in 2004, Professor Wilmerding started to collect pop art, an interest of his since his Dartmouth days. This collection has been bequeathed to Princeton University.

Professor Wilmerding is survived by his sister, Lila Wilmerding Kirkland, her husband, David Kirkland, a brother, James Watson Webb Wilmerding and Marsha M. Wilmerding, three nieces and three nephews. Professor Wilmerding had homes in Northeast Harbor, Maine, and New York City. John Wilmerding was an inveterate and tireless hunter of antiques, a man of letters with great intellectual curiosity and a dry sense of humor, and a loyal friend with a capacity for joy and generosity. All who knew him regret his passing. Contributions in his memory can be made to Crystal Bridges Museum.

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