Janet Cruikshank McCawley died Jan. 21 in Bloomfield, Conn. She was 91.

Jan truly loved the Vineyard. A strong advocate of the land bank, she served as the Tisbury selectmen’s representative to the land bank advisory committee for many years. She was also active in the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club, the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Library, the SBS Book Club, the Want to Know Club and West Chop Club.

Longtime Island summer visitors, she and her husband Edmund McCawley lived in Fairfield, Conn. until they retired in 1982 to Franklin street in Tisbury. Since Edmund’s death in 2002 Jan has resided at Havenside Apartments in Vineyard Haven and Seabury Retirement Center in Bloomfield, Conn.

Born on May 28, 1924 in Washington, Conn., Jan grew up at Romford and then Taft School in Watertown, Conn., where her father Paul Cruikshank, also of West Chop, was headmaster. She graduated from Milton Academy and Connecticut College. Her love of drama and writing directed her to a teaching career in high school English. From Greenwich Country Day to Low-Heywood in Stamford and for 20 years at Greens Farms Academy, she enjoyed it all.

Along the way she managed to raise five children and enjoy numerous travel adventures with her husband. She loved camping across the country, and did so several times. In retirement she created fantastic soups in her kitchen and wrote three Vineyard cookbooks.

She is survived by her children Bruce McMullen, Susan McMullen, Scott McMullen, Gayla McMullen, Sarah Cairns, and Elizabeth McCawley, and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service will be private, with interment alongside her husband in Holmes Hole Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to Felix Neck Wildlife Trust, PO Box 494, Vineyard Haven, MA, 02568 or massaudubon.org/felixneck.