Jacqueline C (Conant) Whipple

Jacqueline Conant Whipple of Cohasset, age 95, died peacefully at home, July 14, 2016. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 71 years, David Collins Whipple. Jackie grew up in New York and attended Scarsdale High School, where she was editor of the yearbook, voted Most Likely to Succeed (as was David) and Wittiest in the class. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College, after which she began a multi-faceted career as a reporter, writer, and editor. Initially Jackie worked in New York as a script-writer for J. Walter Thompson Co., then was a reporter for the Washington Daily News in 1945 when the story of the Atomic Bomb attack came over the wires.  After the war, Jackie and Dave built a “mid-century modern” glass-enclosed home in Waltham, MA where they had four children. During this time Jackie wrote articles for magazines, and was active in the League of Women Voters. She became the chief editorial writer for WCRB radio and won a best editorial award. Moving to Cohasset in 1958 into a “white elephant” Victorian house was a transformative experience. She and Dave spent the next 50 years renovating and enjoying their residence, family and community. In Cohasset, Jackie continued her political activism--including advocating for the return of trains to Boston, was president of the PTA, and an integral member of First Parish Church. In 1967 she became a copy editor, and later audio visual coordinator, for Houghton Mifflin Co. After her “retirement” she went back to school, attaining both a certificate at the Art Institute of Boston and an MA in cultural anthropology at Lesley College. Her thesis explored mixed marriages. In later years Jackie enjoyed participating in the Cohasset Discussion Club and Yacht Club; she loved music and traveling. Jackie’s artistic talents were highlighted in the family Christmas cards she designed for 60 years and creativity sparked all her endeavors, from work, to entertaining, to celebrating her family. Jackie rarely was complacent; into her nineties she was urging on her husband, her children and then grandchildren to accomplish things; this legacy of activism will not diminish.  Jackie is survived by four children: Nancy Whipple Grinnell, of Newport, RI; Roger Whipple of Duxbury, MA; Dr. Leah Whipple, of Kimberton, PA; and Benjamin Whipple and his wife Carol Gladstone, of Brookline, MA; ten grandchildren: Lucinda, Geoffrey and Lydia Grinnell; Justine and Carolyn Whipple; Emma, Damon and Arlo Menapace; and David and Elizabeth Whipple; and one great-grandchild, Seda Tavtigian-Grinnell. Burial will be private. Memorial donations may be made to a charity of one’s choice. 

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