We memorialize the passing of Cynthia J. Van Zandt, 62, a remarkable person of Portsmouth, NH. She passed away on November 11, 2024.

Cynthia was born in Munich, Germany, on May 14, 1962, to MariLynn Logan Van Zandt and Homer Richardson Van Zandt, who were originally from Texas.

Cynthia moved around the world with her parents and brother. Her father was a career U.S. Army officer, which took her family twice to Germany, and in the United States to Texas, Maryland, Alabama, Washington, and Virginia. With her family, Cynthia settled in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she graduated from Albemarle High School and then attended and graduated in 1984 from the University of Virginia, with a bachelor's degree in government. Cynthia later obtained her master's and doctoral degrees in history from the University of Connecticut to become a professional historian. For 26 years, she advised first-year students to doctoral students as a history professor at the University of New Hampshire and served twice as the Director of Graduate Studies for her department. She taught classes from introductory North American surveys, to Tudor-Stuart England, to Native American subjects, to witchcraft, to capstone seminars for undergraduates and graduate students. Cynthia was an active scholar, best known for her monograph, Brothers Among Nations: The Pursuit of Intercultural Alliances in Early America, 1580-1660 (Oxford University Press, 2008). She was recognized as a Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the New Netherlands Institute, and the Holland Society, as well as being honored by her university and other professional organizations.

In 1986, Cynthia married Jim Rollins, her husband of 38 years. He and Cynthia met through mutual friends after college and were together ever since. Cynthia was devoted to her family, husband Jim and daughter Hannah, with whom she happily spent hours chasing dogs and horses, as well as wrangling people, her parents MariLynn and Van, and her brother Kenny and his family. Her family and her many friends and colleagues will miss her dearly. Cynthia loved to read, to write, to garden and to enjoy sunsets on the water and long walks in the woods. Cynthia was also an accomplished athlete, a fast-pitch softball pitcher and a martial artist with black belts in two styles.

Cynthia is survived by her husband, Jim Rollins (Portsmouth, NH); their daughter, Hannah Logan Van Zandt-Rollins (Portsmouth, NH, and Princeton, NJ); parents, Homer Richardson Van Zandt and MariLynn Logan Van Zandt (Barboursville, VA, and formerly of Las Cruces, NM); brother Kenny Van Zandt and his wife Monica (Keswick, VA); sister-in-law Nancy Rowell and her husband Bill (Highgate, VT); brother-in-law John Rollins and his wife Debbie (Plymouth, MA); five nephews; one niece and their partners and spouses; and eight great-nephews and nieces.

Visiting hours will be at J. Verne Wood Funeral Home, Buckminster Chapel, 84 Broad Street, Portsmouth, NH, on Friday , November 22, 2024, from 5 to 7 p.m. A memorial service to celebrate Cynthia's life will be held on Saturday, November 23, 2024 at 11 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, NH. For those unable to attend but who would like to participate, the service will be streamed at https://www.youtube.com/live/-OzDagDLibY. A reception will follow the service at the church's Thaxter Hall. Burial will follow at a later date at the Drew Family Cemetery on Modock Hill Road in Conway, NH.

We especially thank Cynthia's physicians, nurses, and caregivers over the past three years who helped her in her battle with ovarian cancer. Massachusetts General Hospital's physicians and staff, especially in Boston and Danvers, MA, allowed Cynthia to have additional years of life with those she loves. And, the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, MA, with its caring staff, enabled Cynthia to end her time in this world peacefully.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Tina's Wish, https://tinaswish.org/donate/, a charity especially focused on the early detection of ovarian cancer, and the Massachusetts General Hospital, Gynecological Oncology Department, https://giving.massgeneral.org/donate/give-to-the-mgh-fund.

Condolences or a favorite memory of Cynthia may be left for the family by visiting www.jvwoodfuneralhome.com.