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.
Joseph J. Gerry, O.S.B., the former auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Manchester and 10th bishop of the Diocese of Portland, Maine, 94, died July 2, 2023. He served as the third Abbot of Saint Anselm College from 1972 to 1986. Pope John Paul II appointed him the Manchester Diocese’s auxiliary bishop in 1986. In late 1988, the Pope named him to head the Portland Diocese, where he remained until 2004. While at Saint Anselm College, he served as dean and chancellor and a member of the philosophy faculty. He was instrumental in the foundation of the Saint Anselm College Humanities Program. (Lambert Funeral Home)
Judith (Taylor) Reever, 82, of Laconia, died June 26, 2023. She served 21 years on the Laconia School Board and was a state legislator, serving on the house education committee, where she was instrumental in helping pass kindergarten for all N.H. students. She also served as chair of the LRGH board of directors. She served on the N.H. School Boards Association, traveling the state doing school board training and ultimately serving as chair. She was also appointed as the chair of the N.H. Board of Education by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Ronald R. Violette, 86, of Milford, died July 3, 2023. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he opened Violette’s Market in Milford, and he and his wife Betty built a new supermarket in Milford named Violette’s IGA in 1981. They retired in 1990, and during retirement, he wrote a book called “Love Thy Grocer.” He was N.H. Retail Grocer of the Year in 1983 and received the National Grocers Association “Spirit of America” award. He was named Milford Citizen of the Year in 1988. With his brother Vern, they started the Ultra Violette Golf Classic scholarship tournament in 1986, the proceeds used to award scholarships for students in the N.H. food industry. He was a member of the Milford Rotary Club and a Knights of Columbus 4th Degree Knight. (Smith & Heald Funeral Home)
Vincent W. Boulanger, 73, of Belmont, died June 30, 2023. He owned and operated Boulanger Brothers Painting. He later owned Vinny’s Painting and Pressure Washing. He managed the Broken Spoke Saloon in Laconia from 2001 until his retirement in 2007. (Dracut (Mass.) Funeral Home)
Peter-Jon Thompson, 68, of Concord, died July 1, 2023. He was senior vice president of commercial lending at Northway Bank. (Bennett Funeral Home)
Terry W. Rhoderick, 67, of Gorham, died July 1, 2023. He owned and operated the Gulf Station in Gorham for several years before becoming the manager of the propane department for CN Brown. He then managed the propane department for Munces Superior for many years. He coached basketball, served on the Gorham Budget Committee and had served as an auxiliary police officer for Gorham. He built Moose Meadows Mini Golf in 1994. (Bryant Funeral Home)
Robert K. Sweet Jr., 85, of Marlborough, diedJune 29, 2023. He was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church in 1962 and for 40 years served churches in Easthampton Mass., West Springfield, Mass., Niantic, Conn. and Reading, Mass. He served as district superintendent of the RISEM District from 1981-1987 and led dozens of summer programs for youth camps, leading mission work teams in countries around the world. He worked closely with the bishop as a member of the cabinet, chair of multiple boards, and conference parliamentarian. He was a trustee of the Marlborough Frost Free Library and co-chair of the Library Building Committee. (Cheshire Family Funeral Home and Crematories)
Patricia Ann “Bonnie” Peterman, 79, of Dover, died July 3, 2023. She worked in hospital medical laboratories for 32 years and six years at Langdon Place of Dover scheduling activities. She led blood drives for the American Red Cross throughout Strafford County in the 1970s and ‘80s. She was a member and past president of the South Berwick/Kittery Rotary Club where she led fundraising for less developed countries, and she traveled to Egypt and India to deliver immunizations for those in need. She was a hospice volunteer, Stephen minister, and first vice president on the board of Dover Children’s Home. (Tasker Funeral Home)
Pamela J. (Hitchcock) (Adams) Katz, 76, of Portsmouth, died July 1, 2023. She was an artist by trade and specialized in abstract decorative painting on canvas, furniture, and floorcloths. Her work has been displayed at local museums and galleries. While a resident of Groton, Mass., she was executive director of the Groton Center for the Arts. In Portsmouth, she helped develop SPLASH! The Art of Portsmouth’s Young People at the Portsmouth Public Library in 2008. (J. Verne Wood Funeral Home – Buckminster Chapel)
Grace F. Rowehl, 72, of Antrim, died July 3, 2023. She created Deer Meadow Homestead where she focused on home grown and locally sourced ingredients to make jams, jellies, and granola. (Jellison Funeral Home)
Stephen A. Black, 78, of Dublin, died July 2, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a firefighter in Wellesley, Mass., and was promoted to chief in 1981, at the time the youngest fire chief in the state. He and his family moved to Peterborough in 1992, where he served as fire chief until his retirement in 2002. He was a member of Kiwanis Club of Wellesley and Peterborough from 1981 to 2021. (Jellison Funeral Home)
Liam Matthew Kelly, 88, of Dublin, died July 1, 2023. A native of Ireland, he operated a photographic studio specializing in portrait and wedding photography in his native country. He emigrated to the United States in 1962, settling first in Buffalo, N.Y., then in Boston. In 1971 he was selected as the assistant to the director of the Boston Public Library, beginning a 26-year tenure at the library serving as an assistant director, associate director, and twice as acting director. (Jellison Funeral Home)
Jonathan K. Howe, 74, of Pittsburg, died July 2, 2023. He founded his own surveying business, Ammonoosuc Survey Company, in 1989. He worked at Attitash ski area and North Country Angler, where he taught fly casting and fly tying. He became a New Hampshire fishing guide in the mid-1990s and brought clients on the Androscoggin and Connecticut rivers. He was involved with the Saco Valley Anglers Association, Pittsburg Anglers Association, and served as a director for the N.H. Wildlife Federation. (Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home)
Pearl Alice (Beauchemin) Porter, 90, of Colebrook, died June 30, 2023. She was the leader of the Eagles 4-H club for many years and was the driving force behind many community projects, 4th of July floats, and group outings. She taught classes in home economics at Colebrook Academy and worked at The Balsams Hotel, first in the dining room and later managing the gift shop. (Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home)
Shawn R. Lauzon, 56, of Londonderry, died July 3, 2023. He lived in Manchester for 54 years and once owned a diner in Manchester where he seemed to be in his glory, surrounded by people in the center of the city that he knew so well. He coached football and baseball for more than 30 years. (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)
Malinda (Maynard) Arcidy, 96, of Bedford, died July 1, 2023. She served as a nurse anesthetist in the U.S. Air Force, honorably discharged with the rank of captain. She and her husband ran several family business ventures, including RCD Components Inc. and a condominium management company in Maine. She served as president of the Girls Club, was a member of the St. Francis Women’s Guild, was president of the Manchester Golden Rulers Club, and was founder and president of the Garden Club. She also volunteered at nursing homes and at the women’s prison, where she administered medical care and counseling. She was a member of the Sierra Club. (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)
Lynn M. Haust, 74, of Ashland, died July 3, 2023. She was an art educator at schools in New Hampshire and Alaska. She retired from teaching in Plymouth in 2013. In retirement, she was an artist in the discipline of fused glass and lampworking, an ancient medium to create glass beads for jewelry. She developed a signature style of bold color and abstractions based on natural forms in nature, often with animals hidden in the landscape. She was a founding member of Artistic Roots Gallery in Plymouth and a and owned Winterhill Farm in Ashland. (Mayhew Funeral Homes)
Onorio “Reno” Rossi, 89, of New Hampton, died June 30, 2023. A native of Italy, he immigrated to the United States in 1949 and settled in Newton, Mass. He was a U.S. Army veteran and a successful mason. In 1983, he and his wife opened Rossi’s Restaurant in New Hampton, recently celebrating 40 years in business. (Mayhew Funeral Homes)
Conrad Lebrun, 91, of Dover, died June 29, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he was an advertising salesman for Foster’s Daily Democrat of Dover. He rose through the ranks at Foster’s, becoming advertising manager, a position he held for many years until his retirement. (Purdy Funeral Service)
Florence Lillian Henderson, 85, of Seabrook, died June 30, 2023. She was the owner of Ceal’s Clam Stand in Seabrook. Her mother started the business in 1948. She was past president of the Navy Wives when she lived in Okinawa, Japan, and later served as the Worthy Matron of the Eastern Star in Hampton. (Remick & Gendron Funeral Home – Crematory)
Robert T. Duarte, 82, of Amherst, died June 29, 2023. A U.S. Navy veteran, he worked for Sanders in Nashua as an electronic technician for 32 years before starting his own company, CNC Automation, which he ran until his retirement in 2022. He was a member of Merrimack Valley Baptist Church, Gideon’s International and the American Legion Post 98. (Rivet Funeral Home & Crematorium)
Maureen A. Daw, 86, of Laconia, died July 4, 2023. She and her husband Harry developed several condominium projects and single-family homes in the Lakes Region and in Sarasota, Fla. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Peter Van Etten Millham, 90, of Laconia, died July 1, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he was an attorney who started his career working with Judge Harold Wescott and Rod Dyer in Wescott, Millham & Dyer, now known as Wescott Law. He practiced for 55 years and raised his family in Gilford. He served as Gilford town moderator for 40 years. He served 15 years on the Gunstock Commission, was a member of the Red Cross board, N.H. Bar Disciplinary Committee, longtime member of Laconia Rotary Club with a term as president, member and commodore (1972-1973) of the Winnipesaukee Yacht Club, founding member of the Lakes Region Charitable Foundation, and chairman of the board of the Circle Program. He and his wife Alida were both awarded the Jim Irwin Community Service Award from St. Lawrence University and served as Gilford Old Home Day co-marshalls. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “The meaning of life is that it stops.” – Franz Kafka, author (July 3, 1883, to June 3, 1924)