Jan Mainch Marthinson Mewhinney, of Ditchley in Northumberland County, Va., died peacefully at home on December 11. She was predeceased by her husband of 33 years, Frederick Harrison Mewhinney, and former husband Oliver Ashby Reardon, of Alexandria, Va. Born May 2, 1931 in Washington D.C., she was the daughter of Detlow Mainch Marthinson and Ruth Griswold Coleman Marthinson, and the sister of Sherrard M. Addison and Capt. Detlow M. Marthinson Jr., USN, all deceased.
She graduated from the Holton Arms School in Washington D.C. and Wells College, Aurora, N.Y. While in the Washington area she was a member of the Junior League of Washington and the Society of U.S. Navy Sponsors. She christened the U.S. Navy ship USS Pierre, while her first husband, Ashby Reardon, was its commanding officer.
During the 1970s she worked as the creative director of an advertising agency, then served as principal buyer for the International Kitchen Shop at Iberian Imports, both in Alexandria, Va. During the early 1980s she and her second husband moved to Ditchley and she opened her own high end kitchen shop, called Company’s Coming in Kilmarnock. It became very popular with cooks from as far away as Canada as well as the entire Tidewater area.
Mrs. Mewhinney was a founding member of the Northern Neck Rose Society, served as a member of the Lancaster-Northumberland Master Gardeners and as emeritus member of the Rappahannock Garden Club. She was a long time volunteer at Historic Christ Church in Weems, and served on the Herbs Committee. As a communicant of Grace Episcopal Church in Kilmarnock, she was an active member of their altar guild, of which she served as chair for several years. She was also a member of the Indian Creek Yacht and Country Club, and volunteered at the Lancaster Community Library.
Mrs. Mewhinney is survived by four children from her first marriage: Cary Nunnally of Newport News, Va., Julia Lee Reardon of Orlean, Va., Jennifer MacGill of Woodbridge, Va., and Brian Ashby Reardon of Baltimore, Md.
A private graveside internment at Historic Christ Church will be held for the family. Memorial services will be held 2:00 p.m. Friday, December 19, 2014 at Grace Episcopal Church, Kilmarnock, Va.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Grace Church Altar Guild Fund, P.O. Box 1059, Kilmarnock, VA 22482 or the Historic Christ Church Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 24, Irvington, VA 22480.