Jennifer Margaret Doggett

Our beloved Jenny Doggett, 76 (aka Mom, Grandma, Dr. Lewis, Aunty Jenny, Dr. Jenny), passed away peacefully on July 16, 2024 surrounded by her family. She was born to David and Tessa Lewis in London, England. She was one of only a handful of women in her class to attain a medical degree at University College London Medical School. There she met her husband John in the Stage Committee, where she sewed costumes, did make-up, and directed several plays.

John and Jenny married in 1972 in a civil ceremony and moved to Boston in 1976. What was supposed to be a one-year fellowship turned into a permanent move. She completed a postgraduate fellowship at the Harvard University Child Development Unit, headed by T. Berry Brazelton, and subsequently spent 20 years in primary care pediatrics run out of her home office. She took special interest in the behavioral and developmental well-being of her patients. During her career, Jenny co-authored two books for parents with William Sammons M.D: Premature Babies: A Different Beginning and Don’t Divorce Your Children: Children and Their Parents Talk About Divorce. In retirement, she continued to consult on issues of child development with day care centers, family, friends, and parents.

Jenny devoted her life to her family. She nurtured her daughters Emma and Rebecca’s love of music through attending every lesson, orchestra rehearsal, and performance. More recently, she was the most wonderful grandmother and great aunt; she was always up for reading a story, playing on the floor, chatting over FaceTime or learning a new game. John and Jenny have traveled through life and the world in their 57 years together. They joyfully celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary two years ago in a backyard party with close friends and family.

Jenny is predeceased by her parents David and Tessa, her brother Roger and her nephew Jonathan. She is survived by her loving husband of 52 years, John, her daughters Emma (Peter) and Rebecca (Brendan), and her grandchildren Signe Sofia, Liv Anais, Freja, Aksel, and Adelaide.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, July 21, at 2:00pm at Levine Chapels, 470 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA. The service will be livestreamed at this link: www.levinelive.com/doggett

In lieu of flowers, donations in Jenny’s honor can be made to several organizations that were very important to her: Greenwood Music Camp, https://www.greenwoodmusiccamp.org/, All Newton Music School, https://www.allnewton.org/, or Dana-Farber Cancer Center, https://dana-farber.org/gift