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.
William “Billy” Pappas, 89, of Manchester, died March 27, 2023. A U.S. Air Force veteran, retiring with the rank of captain, he was a well-known three-sport standout in football, basketball and baseball at both Manchester High School West and UNH. He was the first person to be inducted into the Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame, was named to the All-U.S. Air Force football team and was a member of the Wildcat Athletics Council Hall of Fame. Earlier in his career, he worked for Duty Free International in Frankfurt, Germany, and owned a Manhattan restaurant with two partners. He was a board member of the Joe Yukika-N.H. Chapter of the National Football Foundation and volunteered with the Manchester YMCA, Manchester Historic Association and Glendi sponsored by St. George Cathedral. (Legacy.com)
Pembroke Fire Lt. Terrence “Terry” Judge, 64, of Allenstown, died March 24, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, retiring as a sergeant, he was an inspector for General Electric Co. for more than 30 years. He joined the Pembroke Fire Department in 1987 and worked his way through the ranks to become lieutenant in 2010, serving Pembroke for 33 years. He was lieutenant-in-charge of Pembroke Tower 1. (Roan Family Funeral Home)
Barry Douglas Tanner, 52, of Thornton, died March 23, 2023. He became a part-time police officer with the Plymouth Police Department in 1993, then worked as a patrolman for the Haverhill Police Department from 1994-1995, returning in 1995 to the Plymouth Police Department as a full-time officer. He started as a patrolman and was promoted to detective sergeant. In 2005, he worked for the Holderness Police Department as lieutenant until he retired in 2017. He joined the Bristol Police Department as a part-time detective sergeant until his death. He volunteered with the Thundercats Softball Program and the Plymouth Huskies Football Team, serving as their equipment manager and then president. He also coached middle school football at Plymouth Elementary School. (Mayhew Funeral Homes)
Richard Bergskaug, 46, of Penacook, died March 28, 2023. He was a special education teacher for the Shaker Regional School District, which serves Belmont and Canterbury. He also served as football coach, defensive line and receivers’ coach, and special education teacher at Hollis-Brookline High School. He was director of the alternative school CAP program at Franklin High School and a special education teacher at Souhegan High School. (Rochette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Douglas W. Harvey, 65, of Berlin, died March 23, 2023. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he later enlisted in the Army National Guard, serving from 1980-2011. He was a member of the White Mountain Post 2520 VFW where he served as quartermaster. He was also a member of the Ryan-Scammon American Legion Post No. 36 where he served as adjutant. (Bryant & Fleury-Patry Funeral Home)
Marion L. (Butson) Allen, 85, of Franklin and formerly of Wilmot, died March 25, 2023. She had a 35-year career as a librarian, working at New London Hospital Medical Library, Colby-Sawyer College Library and New Hampshire Hospital’s Dorothy M. Breene Memorial Library. She was the N.H. representative for Clan Lindsay USA for 26 years at the N.H. Highland Games. She climbed all 48 4,000-foot mountains in New Hampshire and five in Maine before the age of 55. She served the Kearsarge Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Andover, was a member of the League of Women Voters, Wilmot Community Association, Wilmot Garden Club, Wilmot Democratic Committee, and the Wilmot Ladies Aid Society. She also served as chairman of the Wilmot Conservation Commission. (Chadwick Funeral Home)
Thomas J.”TJ” McCartney, 90, of Nashua, died March 27, 2023. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he was on the board of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua and served as president, helping create the annual Boys & Girls Club auction fundraiser that has raised millions for the club over the last 30 years. He was on the board of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and United Way of Greater Nashua. Was also a volunteer and served on the board of Home Health & Hospice. He owned TJ McCartney, Inc. since 1976 and was a member of the executive board of the Association of Wall & Ceiling Industries (AWCI), serving as president in 1995. (Davis Funeral Home)
David Norman Seager, 84, of Hollis, died March 24, 2023. A farmer at heart, he worked for Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis and was still working the land at Howe Farm, cutting, baling, and selling the hay as he had for the last 40 plus years. He served as president of the Hollis Seniors. (Davis Funeral Home)
Edward H. Brooks III, 86, of Salem, died March 25, 2023. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was a selectman for the town of Durham, Maine, for three years and a town council member in Yarmouth, Maine, for four years. He worked for Prudential Insurance Co. for more than 30 years before his retirement. He volunteered for Court Street Baptist Church, Littlefield Memorial Baptist Church, and CenterPoint Community Church. He was a 32nd Degree Mason with the Acadia Lodge, a member of the Kora Temple Shrine, State of Maine and Salem Historical Societies, Friends of Rockland Library, and the Audubon Society. (Douglas & Johnson Funeral Home)
Walter H. Philbrick, 79, of Gilford, died March 27, 2023. He was director and past co-president of the Nansen Ski Club in Berlin. He was also a past director, vice president and president of the Belknap County Sportsmen’s Association of Gilford. He was a member of the Pemi Fish & Game Club of Holderness, the Millsfield ATV Club, the Belknap Family Adventures ATV Club and the Milan Trail Huggers ATV Club. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Gorham and was owner of B&G Fruit and Produce Company in Berlin. He was a sales representative for Idlenot Dairy of North Springfield, Vt., and later H.P. Hood Dairy. (Emmons Funeral Home)
Carleton F. “Thumper” Auer, 80, of Henniker, died March 24, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he worked for N.H. Fish and Game for more than 30 years, as a biology aide in the Game Division and later in the Fisheries Division. He was assistant game damage adjuster and worked in the Salmon and Shad Restoration Program. (Holt-Woodbury Funeral Home & Cremation Service)
Lisa Jo Steiner, 66, of Hillsborough, died March 23, 2023. She volunteered for the Hillsboro-Deering Music Department for 10 years as music booster president, helping raise thousands of dollars for students to participate in activities, go on trips, and purchase new marching band uniforms. She was a member of the Hillsboro United Methodist Church, serving on the finance committee. (Holt-Woodbury Funeral Home & Cremation Service)
Bruce L. Montgomery, 87, of Peterborough, died March 26, 2023.He was a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and then head of the pro bono division at Arnold & Porter. He represented Indians of All Tribes who occupied Alcatraz during the Nixon Administration. He and his wife Nan supported their community in East Alstead through land stewardship and conservation efforts. (Jellison Funeral Home)
Sr. Jeannette Levasseur, pm, (Sr. St. Adrien) 88, of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, Manchester, NH died March 26, 2023. She taught in elementary schools in New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island, and was director and core group member of Our Lady of Hope, House of Prayer in New Ipswich. She was one of 60 sisters throughout the country selected from over 500 applicants to record “Sisters in Song” and “Rejoice.” (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)
John R. Thayer, 93, of Laconia, died March 23, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a radio announcer while a student at the University of Maine in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, then a cameraman at WCSH-TV, Portland, Maine (1954-56). He obtained his Ph.D. degree in radio and television and worked in television in Columbus, Ohio, then for an advertising agency in Buffalo, in Maryland as a product manager for Arbitron, a television ratings firm, and as a contributing editor of Sponsor Magazine, a national TV trade publication. He worked in New York City for 28 years, for Peters, Griffin, Woodward, Inc. as vice president/research, and in 1978 he joined the CBS Television Network where he was director of affiliate research until his retirement in 1993. He lived in Meredith for 10 years, moving to Laconia in 2003. He was a tour guide at Castle in the Clouds, Moultonborough, for 16 seasons. He was a member of Presumpscot Lodge No. 70 AF & AM, Windham, Maine, and a member of the American Legion, Wilkins-Smith Post No. 1, Laconia. (Mayhew Funeral Homes)
The Hon. Karen Keegan-Hutchinson, 76, of Londonderry, died March 26. She was a state representative representing Londonderry for more than 20 years. A native of Germany, she was a registered nurse before finding her true calling as a licensed realtor, operating Blue Eagle Realty for more than 40 years. She served as chairperson of the Londonderry School Board and was a member of the school building committee and a longtime participant in the Londonderry Old Home Days parade. (Peabody Funeral Homes & Crematorium)
Paul Henry Loffler, 81, of Londonderry and formerly of Derry, died March 26, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he and his wife owned and operated Smart Toys in Derry for 17 years. He was a member of the Derry Lions Club, Friends of the Library, and the Community Care Givers of Greater Derry, where he served on the board of directors. (Peabody Funeral Homes & Crematorium)
Thelma Mae Garstang, 94, of Merrimack, died March 26, 2023. She was former president of the Merrimack VFW Post 8461 Auxiliary, member of the Merrimack American Legion Memorial Post 98 Auxiliary and of the Merrimack Senior Citizens. She operated the snack booth for the Merrimack Men’s Softball League for many years. (Rivet Funeral Home)
Benedict Lupica, 99, a longtime Nashua resident, died March 27, 2023. He and his wife Lee were honorary members of Nashua Country Club, where they were fixtures for over a half-century. He served on various committees, most notably as one of the most popular golf chairmen in the club’s history. Earlier in life, he was a bombardier in Liberator B24s, flying 31 missions over Europe in 1944 and ’45 out of the 165th Bombardment Group and 783rd Bombardment Squadron. (Rochette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Gerald Wayne Finley, 81, of Dover, died March 28, 2023. He worked as a master florist, for many years at Ye Olde English Flower Shoppe & Greenhouse in Newmarket, but he was better known as an actor. Locally, he performed at Players’ Theatre of Manchester, Theatre-by-the-Sea of Portsmouth, Hackmatack Playhouse in Berwick, Maine, Dover Repertory Theatre in Dover, and as a guest actor at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. He also appeared in many productions as a member of Garrison Players of Dover. (Purdy Funeral Service)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” – Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859)