Janet Schoeler of Cornish Flat, N.H.,69, an award winning dressage equestrian, editor, writer, photographer and graphic designer, passed away on March 21, 2012, after a six-year battle with cancer.

Her sister, Joanne (Christy) Graydon, had traveled from Canada to provide home hospice care for several weeks.

Ms. Schoeler, whose brother Ronald Irving Christy died in 2004 is survived by a niece, Keesy (Graydon) Rodewald and her husband Darryl Rodewald, and two great nieces, Alley Christy Rodewald and Sophia Marie Rodewald, many friends, and her dog, Kip, her cat, Sophie, and her horse, Proctor, with whom she had
evented for years

She was the daughter of the late Jolenz DeWitt Christy and Florence Lucretia Christy, and was born in Long Island, NY, on June 29, 1942.

Ms. Schoeler and her late husband, George, were transplants from Wrentham, Mass., but soon became immersed in local life.

"Be direct and live passionately" was her favorite quote, and she lived up to that imperative.

"Even when we were roommates at Boston University Janet was goal oriented and independent. She talked the Boston Police Horse Patrol into letting her come and ride their horses!" long-time friend, Kris Field of Boston, said.

Her design capabilities are showcased on area brochures, bumper stickers, flyers, newsletters, reports and on the Internet.

She developed websites for more than 25 area clients, provided instruction in web design, and wrote and photographed for Upper Valley Life, a general interest magazine

Articles included a profile of the Cornish Hens, a social and networking group of area women, and an interview with the owners of Dan & Whit's Vermont country store in Norwich.

Her work also ran in Kearsarge Magazine, the Kimball Union Academy alumni magazine and Green Mountain Horse Association magazine.

Ms. Schoeler exhibited photos locally and shared an award from PHOTOSTOP, an Upper Valley gallery and teaching space.

She served Cornish Flat in several capacities; these included membership on the Cornish Fair arts committee, website designer for the 2011 fair, and co-developer of the town's website, which garnered honorable mention in a statewide Internet competition.

Bob Colonna, a Rhode Island director and actor and one of Mrs. Schoeler's oldest friends, remembers her by saying "I loved Janet, but then you had to. She was like nobody else, funny, quirky, wise in the way of all creatures (including people), a perfect partner to George and a treasure to her friends."

Ms. Schoeler moderated a blog-style forum on Cornish Flat area events and opinions, entitled "Cornish, New Hampshire, Speaks Up."

In Massachusetts, she was awarded a state grant for video about a two-room school schoolhouse and for restoring and framing the schoolhouse photographs; a then-and-now photographic study of buildings in one town; an oral history from townspeople and a limited edition book on the same subject.

Former colleagues at The Sun Chronicle newspaper in Attleboro, Mass., where Ms. Schoeler had worked as a reporter, remembered her with affection and respect. "Janet was a dedicated correspondent who provided thorough, first-rate news coverage and photos of Wrentham for many years. I lived in Plainville at the time and made regular trips to Janet's house to pickup news copy and film to make sure the Western Norfolk County pages had her stories." " Ned Bristol, the paper's retired newsroom editor, said.

Long ago she amused co-workers when, while hospitalized briefly in Massachusetts, the determined reporter developed and filed a news story from her bed, based on a tip she'd picked up during her stay.

When asked late in her illness what she would like included in her obituary, she replied by saying her horse, dog and cat defined her in the most positive ways, as did those who were always there for her.

"Hooray to life," she added, "and all the things we love."

A "Celebration of Life" will be held at Janet's home March 31, 2012 at 1:00.