InDepthNH.org scans the websites of New Hampshire funeral homes each week and selects at random some of our friends, relatives and neighbors to feature in this column. The people listed here passed away during the previous week and have some public or charitable connection to their community. 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. And if you know of someone from New Hampshire who should be featured in this column, please send your suggestions to NancyWestNews@gmail.com.
Well-known Hooksett car dealer John O. Danos, 84, of Rye, died Oct. 20, 2022. He used the knowledge he gained working with his father in the shoe business to build and operate several successful businesses including The Red Onion Restaurant in downtown Manchester and Corvettes Unlimited in Hooksett, which had as clients Roy Orbison, ZZ Top, Jim Rice and Reggie Jackson. A daredevil at heart from an early age, he loved motorcycles and racing and continued to ride his Harleys into his 80s. (Remick and Gendron Funeral Home)
Dr. Robert Cimis Jr., 56, of Bow, died Oct. 21, 2022. A Dartmouth Medical School graduate, he was a gastroenterologist who practiced at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, Carolina East Medical Center in New Bern, N.C., Concord Gastroenterology in Concord, and Littleton Regional Healthcare in Littleton. (Bennett Funeral Home)
Olive “Ollie” Mae Lafond, 80, of Concord, died Oct. 24, 2022. A U.S. Air Force veteran, she spent 27 years working for New England Telephone and volunteered for several organizations including the Telephone Pioneers, the AARP Driver’s Safety Program as an instructor and later state coordinator. She was an avid golfer winning various championships at the Derryfield Country Club. (Bennett Funeral Home)
George M. Ahearn, 88, of Raymond, died Oct. 21, 2022. He was a longtime employee of United Engineers and Constructors in Philadelphia, now a division of Raytheon. He travelled all over the United States building power plants. Projects included Longwood in Boston, Three Mile Island, WPPSS in Washington, Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant and Clear Air Force Station, Alaska. He was a longtime member of the Robertsville, N.J., Volunteer Fire Department and the Knights of Columbus. He was also a member of the Lions Club and was a supporter of the Raymond Youth Athletic Association. (Brewitt Funeral Home)
Janice E. (Todd) O’Rourke, 90, of North Sutton, died Oct. 23, 2022. She worked for the CIA in Washington, D.C. and later owned Ponkapoag Kennels in Warner, where she raised Brittany Spaniels and boarded dogs. Later she worked for Kearsarge Regional High School in Sutton. She volunteered at Hospice House in Concord, Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, and Capital Center for the Arts in Concord. (Chadwick Funeral Service)
John Edward Pearson, 89, of Nashua, died Oct. 21, 2022. In 1968 he was voted Man of the Year by the Nashua Jaycees for distinguished community service. Throughout his career he completed many government contracts as a general contractor, including rebuilding and gold leafing the dome structure of the New Hampshire State House and replacing the marble floors. He rebuilt the U.S. Navy Prison in Kittery, Maine, while it was occupied with 851 prisoners. He rehabbed housing for the U.S. Air Force, built barracks for the U.S. Marines and built a nuclear storage facility for the U.S. Navy. As a developer and builder, he built thousands of single-family homes, condominiums, and apartments throughout the Northeast, including in 1969 Regency Park in Nashua. He had an office in Lagos, Nigeria. (Dumont-Sullivan Funeral Home)
Yvonne Crocker, 97, of Auburn, died Oct. 20, 2022. A native of Amsterdam, after the world war she worked for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, traveling to many European capitals to set up reservation systems. She accepted a one-year assignment at UNH in a government-sponsored German program and in 1973 was hired by the Concord School District as a teacher in foreign languages. In 1984 she also completed the course work and residency at Vanderbilt University in the Ph.D. program. She taught evening classes in German and Spanish at the Manchester Institute of Arts and Sciences in the 1970s. In 1974 she received the Urkunde from the Bundes Republik Deutschland for outstanding achievement in the study of German Language and literature. In 1981 she established an exchange program with a gymnasium in Wegberg, Germany. She was a long-time member and past member at large of MENSA, a member and past state president of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international honor society for Women Educators. She was selected their “2016 Woman of Achievement” Award. She was a 50-year plus member of Concord Grange #322. (Durning, Bykowski & Young Funeral Home)
Linda Keller, 76, of Rochester, died Oct. 21, 2022. She was a master teacher with more than 35 years of service to the Rochester School District. She prided herself in making middle school science class both accessible and fun for her students. (R.M. Edgerly & Son Funeral Home)
Michael B. Bresnahan, 84, of Canaan, died Oct. 24, 2022. A U.S. Army veteran and a licensed electrician, he owned MB Electric in Berlin. He volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America, the Androscoggin Valley United Way, the Berlin-Gorham Chamber of Commerce, American Legion, and the Irish-American Cultural Institute. (Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home)
Nancy C. Rupp, 94, of Newmarket, died Oct. 24, 2022. She was an assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire for many years. She also volunteered as a counselor at Camp Wyonegonic where she was known as “Teddy”. Nancy loved the outdoors, sports and spending time with friends. (Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home & Crematory)
Jane A. Weiland, 88, of Durham, died Oct. 22, 2022. She taught in elementary schools for 30 years in New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and in New Hampshire in Barrington, Dover, Northwood, and for 15 years in the Oyster River School System (Mast Way, Moharimet, and Oyster River Elementary Schools). She retired in 1994. She was a member of the Community Church of Durham, the Christian Education Cabinet, was a teacher in the Sunday School Program, and was a member of the Visitation Committee. Through the outreach program of UNH, she was a tours director for 11 years for the Active Retirement Association. She was a member of the Silver Squares and also a member of Oasis in Exeter. (Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home & Crematory)
Michael “Mike” George Stevens, 65, of West Ossipee, died Oct. 21, 2022. He was the owner of Big Moose RV, Inc. in Ossipee, and before that was a salesman for Ray’s Marina for many years. He and his son Michael were the owners of Bearcamp River Campground in West Ossipee. (C.E. Peaslee & Son, Inc.)
James Lee Miller Sr., 90, of Dover, died Oct. 24, 2022. A U.S. Navy veteran, he served during the Korean War on the USS Wisconsin and USS Baltimore. He retired from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as head of nuclear inspection. While working at the shipyard, he co-owned and operated Clam Haven, a drive-in restaurant in Dover that operated in the fifties and sixties. He volunteered for Assembly of God Church in Dover and Davenport, Fla. He was the youth minister for many years in Dover. He was an active member of the Lion’s Club and served as club president. (Wiggin-Purdy-McCooey-Dion Funeral Home)
Dr. Lauren Gray Gilstrap, 38, of Hanover, died Oct. 21, 2022. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and a Truman Scholar at the University of Texas at Austin, she attended Harvard Medical School and was on the faculty at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in the Heart and Vascular Center, with a joint appointment in The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She was an assistant professor at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and in 2021, she became the program head for Advanced Heart Disease and Transplant Cardiology in the Heart and Vascular Center. (Ricker Funeral Homes & Crematory)
Phillip N. Straight, 76, of Merrimack, died Oct. 25, 2022. He was a member of the Army National Guard and retired from the state of Iowa Soil Conservation reclaiming mines. He was a state representative for Merrimack representing Hillsborough District 21 from 2012 to 2016. (Rivet Funeral Home and Crematorium)
Betty Ruth Jensen, 95, of Gilford, died Oct. 25, 2022. She and her husband Milton owned Boulder Lodge Cottages in Alton Bay from 1975 to 2001. She was active in the Bolton Congregational Church, Boy Scouts, and often referred to herself as mom’s taxi for all her children’s activities. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Joan Lettvin, 99, of Bradford, died Oct. 27, 2022. She created Performing Artists Associates (PAA) of New England in 1977, and her endeavor spawned other offices that provided both understanding of the arts management process for young artists, and an affordable resource for audiences throughout the United States. In 1992, the Lettvin Concert Series started in Bradford, when her husband, Theodore Lettvin, played a concert to raise money for the Bradford Meeting House. The concerts have continued since 1992. (Holt-Woodbury Funeral Home & Cremation Service)
Eleanor M. Lewis, 92, of Rochester, died Oct. 26, 2022. She was active in The Meaderboro Community Church as a Sunday school teacher and Sunday school treasurer for many years. Eleanor was also a part of the church’s missionary support group. She volunteered at Frisbie Memorial Hospital. (R.M. Edgerly & Son Funeral Home)