Vicki Jane Putnam Pompa, also known as Vicki Jane, Vic, Mom, Granny, or Ms. Pompa, passed away peacefully on January 2, 2026, in Newton, MA. She was born on June 27, 1949, the daughter of J. Roger Putnam and Sara Fredrick Putnam, and grew up on their farm in Clifton Park, NY. There she would spend many self-described "best days of her life" celebrating the 4th of July with her extended family against a backdrop of hayrides and fireworks. On that holiday she used what she called her "sparkle paint brushes" (sparklers) to create "original masterpieces against the black sky dotted with twinkling stars." To those who knew her, she sparkled every day of the year.
She graduated from Shenendehowa High School in 1967, a member of the first Shenendehowa class to attend Kindergarten in what was then a brand new school, Vicki used her impressive vertical jumping skills as both a cheerleader and a member of the basketball team and her beautiful singing voice was an asset for the school's chorus. She was elated to have reconnected with so many of her Shen classmates at their 50th high school reunion and to have rekindled those friendships over the last several years. She went to college at SUNY Albany and returned to Clifton Park where she raised her children and spent most of her life. She later finished her BA and also earned an MA in Reading/Education from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY. She and both of her children were in college at the same time!
Reading, teaching, and children were her life-long passions. It is impossible to number the lives she touched. She taught for over 20 years at Mechanicville Elementary and was at her happiest when she could instill a love of reading in a struggling student. Vicki carried her literacy mission into retirement, founding a long running book club in her neighborhood and working for many years on the Two Towns One Book committee with the Clifton Park/Halfmoon Library. Granny spent hours reading to her grandchildren over FaceTime when they lived overseas and even home schooled one grandson remotely during the pandemic. During that time, she also documented her life story in a memoir she titled The Education of Vicki Jane. Her family is forever grateful for this gift of her words.
Vicki loved nothing more than time with her family. She was a fount of creativity for her children, nieces and nephews, and grandchildren, providing endless amounts of art supplies, inventing games, staging friendly competitions with silly toys, and planning themed parties. She was truly a kid at heart. She taught us that any day family is together is a day worth celebrating, possibly even by putting up a Christmas tree in October. She also taught us that one of a parent's primary roles in life is to embarrass their children, as evidenced by the epic 16th birthday humiliation events she created for her kids with the help of some of their dear friends.
In reflecting upon the impact Vicki had on the lives of those around her, it has become clear that she embodied the spirit of one of her favorite children's book characters, Strega Nona. Author Tomie dePaola said his magical granny was "...a charming character, and I'm even amazed by her. She strikes a chord in everyone." Like Strega Nona, Vicki's gift was helping others believe in their own magic. She listened, she supported, she nurtured, she loved.
She is survived by her children, Jennifer Imbaro of Waltham, MA, and Will Pompa of Fairfield, CT, five beloved grandchildren, Leo Imbaro, and Clara, Grady, Arthur, and Laurence Pompa, her brother R. Daniel "Tick" Putnam, his wife Claudia, and several nieces and nephews - John, Christine, Sara, Theresa, and Joe, and their children. She was predeceased by her sister Cheryl "Chery" Ann Camerota.
She concluded her memoir with the following:
"I am full of gratitude for my loving family, my friendly and supportive neighbors, those who were with me in school and college, and all those who learn along with me.
Never stop learning because life never stops teaching."
If you would like to honor Vicki, keep learning, read a book to a child, or spread the gift of literacy by making a donation to Room to Read at www.roomtoread.org
Her family will be arranging a private Celebration of Life later this year.
Vicki, we love you "to the moon and back."
She graduated from Shenendehowa High School in 1967, a member of the first Shenendehowa class to attend Kindergarten in what was then a brand new school, Vicki used her impressive vertical jumping skills as both a cheerleader and a member of the basketball team and her beautiful singing voice was an asset for the school's chorus. She was elated to have reconnected with so many of her Shen classmates at their 50th high school reunion and to have rekindled those friendships over the last several years. She went to college at SUNY Albany and returned to Clifton Park where she raised her children and spent most of her life. She later finished her BA and also earned an MA in Reading/Education from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY. She and both of her children were in college at the same time!
Reading, teaching, and children were her life-long passions. It is impossible to number the lives she touched. She taught for over 20 years at Mechanicville Elementary and was at her happiest when she could instill a love of reading in a struggling student. Vicki carried her literacy mission into retirement, founding a long running book club in her neighborhood and working for many years on the Two Towns One Book committee with the Clifton Park/Halfmoon Library. Granny spent hours reading to her grandchildren over FaceTime when they lived overseas and even home schooled one grandson remotely during the pandemic. During that time, she also documented her life story in a memoir she titled The Education of Vicki Jane. Her family is forever grateful for this gift of her words.
Vicki loved nothing more than time with her family. She was a fount of creativity for her children, nieces and nephews, and grandchildren, providing endless amounts of art supplies, inventing games, staging friendly competitions with silly toys, and planning themed parties. She was truly a kid at heart. She taught us that any day family is together is a day worth celebrating, possibly even by putting up a Christmas tree in October. She also taught us that one of a parent's primary roles in life is to embarrass their children, as evidenced by the epic 16th birthday humiliation events she created for her kids with the help of some of their dear friends.
In reflecting upon the impact Vicki had on the lives of those around her, it has become clear that she embodied the spirit of one of her favorite children's book characters, Strega Nona. Author Tomie dePaola said his magical granny was "...a charming character, and I'm even amazed by her. She strikes a chord in everyone." Like Strega Nona, Vicki's gift was helping others believe in their own magic. She listened, she supported, she nurtured, she loved.
She is survived by her children, Jennifer Imbaro of Waltham, MA, and Will Pompa of Fairfield, CT, five beloved grandchildren, Leo Imbaro, and Clara, Grady, Arthur, and Laurence Pompa, her brother R. Daniel "Tick" Putnam, his wife Claudia, and several nieces and nephews - John, Christine, Sara, Theresa, and Joe, and their children. She was predeceased by her sister Cheryl "Chery" Ann Camerota.
She concluded her memoir with the following:
"I am full of gratitude for my loving family, my friendly and supportive neighbors, those who were with me in school and college, and all those who learn along with me.
Never stop learning because life never stops teaching."
If you would like to honor Vicki, keep learning, read a book to a child, or spread the gift of literacy by making a donation to Room to Read at www.roomtoread.org
Her family will be arranging a private Celebration of Life later this year.
Vicki, we love you "to the moon and back."
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Vicki Putnam Pompa, please visit our flower store.
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