Today, InDepthNH.org begins this new column. Every week, staff at InDepthNH.org will look at the websites of more than 75 funeral homes in New Hampshire and choose some of our friends, relatives and neighbors to feature in this column. The people featured here passed away during the previous week and are chosen at random. InDepthNH.org is now offering obituaries through the Legacy.com service. We view this as part of our public service mission. Click here or on the Obituaries tab at the top of our home page to learn more.
Eileen (Richard) Shields, 87, a longtime resident of Atkinson, died Sept. 26, 2022. Her family and faith were her whole world, and she served as a Eucharistic Minister at Holy Angels Parish of Plaistow. She was presently a member of Saint Anne’s Parish of Hampstead. She was employed as the secretary to the Plaistow Police Chief for 20-plus years before retiring and was named Civilian Employee of the Year several times.
Also deeply-rooted in her Catholic faith, Jacqueline (Coulombe) Ramsey, a life-long resident of Berlin, died Sept. 28, 2022, four days after her 80th birthday. She served in the Altar Guild and as a Eucharistic Minister in St. Anne’s Church. She especially enjoyed bringing Holy Communion to nursing home residents. She was a member of the Ladies of St. Anne and Marie Rivier Associates. She and her husband Rene were among the founding members of the St. Vincent de Paul Center in Berlin where Jacqueline volunteered for many years.
William (Bill) Andrew Murgatroy Jr. 75, of Lempster, died Sept. 26, 2022. He served his country in the U.S. Army as a sniper and decorated squad leader in the 9th Infantry Division in South Vietnam. He received a battlefield promotion to sergeant. After an early retirement from Bell Atlantic Telephone in 1998, he worked part time as an electrician at GO Electric of Cornish and at his own business, The Phone Pro. He was a Bob Ross landscape painter and also operated a gunsmithing business customizing and fitting gunstocks for the trap shooting community. In 1999 he and his brother competed in the Grand American World Trapshooting contest in Vandalia, Ohio. He served as a Lempster Selectman and a member of the Lempster Historical Society. He wrote numerous articles in local publications and authored several historical novels including a memoir of his time in the Vietnam War. His German Short-Haired Pointers, Misty and Amy, were his constant companions.
Elaine M. (Charest) Roy, 78, of Nashua, died Sept. 27, 2022. After graduating from high school in Lowell, Mass., she entered a convent for five years before realizing her true calling was to be a wife and mother. Prior to her retirement, she worked as a home health aide working for Home Health & Hospice for many years, a career she truly loved. She was well known for her impeccable sewing abilities.
Elaine M. (Norton) Ferrari, 77, of Salem died Sept. 27, 2022. She especially loved the Christmas holiday season and was widely known as one of the all-time great present givers to her grandchildren.
Karen Presutti, 62, of Londonderry, who died Sept. 23, 2022, also loved the holidays, but a different one. Karen especially loved Halloween and all things that came with it. When she wasn’t watching the latest horror flick, she and her grand babies were busy picking pumpkins or adding to their Halloween display. Karen lived for her grand babies and spent her days loving, caring for, and spoiling the dickens out of them.
Yvette A. (Lacerte) Clark, 79, of Manchester, died Sept. 27, 2022. She also enjoyed the holiday season and had the Christmas spirit all year long. Her love of country music inspired her to become a lead singer in a local country band. She loved to laugh, dance, or celebrate with others wherever she went.
And speaking of country music, Louis G. Richards Jr., 88, a longtime resident of Marlborough, who died Sept. 19, 2022, was an accomplished musician, playing lead guitar and singing in his country western band, “The Esquires.” He served in the Army National Guard and was inducted into the Army and stationed in Germany serving during the allied occupations following the end of World War II. He was supervisor of the quality control department at Markem Corporation in Keene prior to retirement.
William Roger Canny, 85, a long-time resident of Nashua, died Sept. 27, 2022. Born in 1937 in South Boston, he was the son of Irish immigrants. Proud of his South Boston roots, he worked for Raytheon Corporation for most of his professional career. His family said he never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Many will remember Bill for his selfless dedication to youth development in the City of Nashua. For over 30 years, he coached the St. Christopher’s parish basketball teams in the Nashua Deanery CYO league. For over a decade, he coached minor league baseball in the Nashua Parks and Recreation Department. For a few seasons, he even coached soccer in the Nashua Y League although he knew little about the sport.
Nashua also lost another tireless sports booster last week. Brendalee Holbrook, 57, of Nashua, died Sept. 26, 2022. She was an avid sports fan and volunteered for many decades with the Nashua Cal Ripken Baseball League. She ran the concession stands, served as treasurer, assistant director to the league, coach, and bookkeeper.
Diane S. Plante, 69, of Dover, died Sept. 26, 2022. Before having children, she worked for General Electric in administrative and clerical positions, and after raising her family, worked part-time for the Dover School Department. She enrolled in college and in 1991 earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from New England College. She then worked for Liberty Mutual for several years before she eventually went to work for UNH. A two-time cancer survivor, Diane had an upbeat outlook on life and persevered through a breast cancer diagnosis at age 40, and colon cancer five years later. She liked to travel and saw much of the country from the back of her husband’s motorcycle.
Michael L. Monfette, 74, of Alton Bay, died Sept. 27, 2022. A U.S. Army Vietnam-era veteran, he was plant manager for Burton Wire and Cable before retiring last October. He was known to often lend a helping hand to anyone who might need a repairman, and he’d tackle any home repair job. He took great pride in his role of caretaker to his entire family. He will also be sadly missed by his constant companion, Henry the cat.
Thomas W. Geoffrion, 45, of Rochester, died Sept. 26, 2022. Tom was a jack of all trades – carpenter, machinist, mechanic and painter. He spent the last 10 years working at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a painter and NDT Inspector. His favorite pastime was going to concerts. He would always purchase a second ticket to have a friend join in on the fun. Tom also had a passion to record local bands in the seacoast area and was known as “Tommy Two Thumbs.” He enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson and making the annual trip to Laconia Bike week.
Genevieve “Gen” R. Baines, 93, of Seabrook Beach, died Sept. 28, 2022. She married her high school sweetheart in 1949. She and Wallace “Wally” E. Baines moved to Arizona, where Wally was a student at Arizona State University. She worked to help put her husband through college. He eventually became a professor at Norwich University. This devoted wife and mother of four daughters supported her husband’s career moves from Hampton Academy to Jeffersonville Central School in New York, with a final move to Norwich University in Northfield, Vt. At Norwich, she was involved in organizing and planning faculty functions. One of her favorites was running the college’s ski area. Education was so important to her that once her daughters were all at college, she also went back to college, receiving a bachelor of science degree in education, from Norwich University/Vermont College in 1988, the same year her husband retired.
R. Frederic Ashenden, 80, of Rye and formerly of Hampton and Billerica, Mass., died Sept. 26, 2022. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was a mechanical engineer by trade, and throughout his life, he had a love of music, serving as organist and guest organist at many churches. He enjoyed singing in many choirs and with the Hampton Chorale.
Music was also an integral part of the life of Blanche L. (Lefebvre) Proulx, 93, of Allenstown, who died Sept. 26, 2022. Prior to her retirement, she was employed as a computer programmer for the New Hampshire Union Leader for more than 32 years. As an active communicant of St. John the Baptist Parish, she began singing in church at the age of 9.? For more than 60 years, she was a devoted organist at St. John the Baptist before retiring in July of 2019.? In addition to being the director of the women’s choir, she was also a longtime member and past president of the Ladies of Ste. Anne Sodality.
Raymond L. Mayo Sr., 84, of Claremont, died Sept. 26, 2022. He graduated from George Washington University with an associate degree in medical sciences, and his 22-year naval career took him from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to several naval hospitals and the USS Repose hospital ship before being assigned as the independent medical officer aboard the USS Mark in Vietnam. He served two years in Vietnam and was one of two Maine veterans who were recognized by the Secretary of the Navy with a Meritorious and Achievement Medal in the line of enemy fire. He retired in 1979 with the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer. Upon his retirement, he worked for Metropolitan Life and was the president of Life Writers Association; and as an advertising agent for the Tampa Tribune. He also created and published the Connecticut River Valley Real Estate Magazine in New Hampshire. He was active in volunteer work, including as a member and Grand Knight in the Knights of Columbus 3rd and 4th degrees; recipient of the Grand Knight of the Year award, and member of the St. Mary Cavaliers Color Guard.
