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.
Timothy J. “Ted” Connors, 86, of Newington, died July 12, 2023. He was
elected mayor of Portsmouth in 1964 at age 26 and recently stepped
down as a two-term chairman of selectmen in Newington. His career
included longtime director of the Portsmouth Housing Authority from
1975 to 2004, chairman of the N.H. Racing Commission from 1970 to
2015, board member of Seacoast Mental Health from 1988 to 1999,
director and chairman of Foundation for Seacoast Health from 1999 to
2007, and many other commissions and boards in the Seacoast area.
(Farrell Funeral Home)
David N. Rasmussen, 82, of Exeter, died July 12, 2023. He was a business executive in the computer industry and an adjunct professor at Northeastern University after retiring, but he was better known as the leader of the Dave Rasmussen Jazz Orchestra as well as the Sax Factory, playing venues throughout southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. He also released several albums throughout his music career. He played the piano, saxophone, clarinet, and flute. He was a Master Mason. (Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home & Crematory)
Timothy J. McLean, 57, of Concord, died July 12, 2023. He established TJM Motorsports and Northern European Automotive. He was considered one of New England’s top Porsche mechanics, also proficient with Audi and Volkswagen brands. Northern European Automotive specializes in tuning and repairing European cars. He was a NASCAR enthusiast and as a teen could be found racing dirt-bikes, building and racing custom built cars. (Bennett Funeral Home)
Joseph N. Germano, 83, of Franconia, died July 17, 2023. He volunteered for many organizations, including the Blessed Sacrament Food Pantry of Manchester, a minor seminary of the Legionaries of Christ in Center Harbor, and Good Neighbor Food Pantry in Franconia. He was president of Liberty International Trucks in Manchester from 1978 until his retirement in 2000. (Legacy.com)
Meghan Margaret Pierce, 50, of Peterborough, died July 7, 2023. She was co-founder of the hyper-local news website, the Monadnock Beat, covering the goings-on of the Monadnock Region. She also wrote for the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript and was a news correspondent for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News from 2011 to 2018. She sang with the Divine Mercy Church choir for many years as well as directing The Divine Mercy Parish Youth Choir for four years. (MonadnockBeat.org)
Steven J. Winter, 84, of Newbury, died July 15, 2023. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was a pilot for American Airlines for 31 years, retiring in 1998 as a captain. He was also a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve, retiring as a commander. He ran for New Hampshire governor as a Libertarian in 1994, worked for John McCain’s 2000 campaign in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and was twice elected to the N.H. House. He was elected two times as the clerk and chief legislative officer of the New Hampshire Senate and was a member of the N.H. State Republican Committee. (Chadwick Funeral and Cremation Service)
Natalie Vernon Davis, 85, of New London, died July 19, 2023. She began her teaching career in Warwick, R.I., then moved to the Milton, Mass., public schools, where she taught for 20 years, first in middle school then, briefly, in high school. She taught in Claremont Middle School for two years, then taught for 10 years in the Kearsarge Regional High School. She was active in the Boston Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. (Chadwick Funeral and Cremation Service)
Charles E. LeVeille, 78, of Manchester, died July 20, 2023. He was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, serving two tours of duty in Vietnam. He owned and operated a golf equipment repair service and was a former American Legion State Commander and a Gold Card member and former commander of Sweeney Post 2. He was also a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the Elks Lodge 146 and the Raphael Club. (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)
Herbert T. “Todd” Madden, 76, of Pelham, died July 13, 2023. Until recently, he was the owner of the Pine Valley Golf Links in Pelham for more than 62 years. (Pelham Funeral Home)
Richard Albert Lavoie, 83, of Nashua, died July 13, 2023. He worked many years as a poultry farmer. He and his wife, Louise, owned and operated Lavoie Egg Farms on Pine Hill Road in Nashua for many years. He also worked for the Nashua public school system as a head custodian at Birch Hill School. (Davis Funeral Home)
Thomas Ducharme, 72, of Rochester, died July 18, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he started work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 1971 and over the years became a superintendent. He retired from the Navy Yard in 2015 after 44 years of service. He was a member of the Rochester Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) Lodge 1393 and in 1989 was named Exalted Ruler. He proudly inducted his son, Peter, to the rank of Exalted Ruler in 2023. (R.M. Edgerly & Son Funeral Home)
Carol L. (Clement) Ford, 81, of Rochester, died July 13, 2023. She was a volunteer for many years at the Homeless Center for Strafford County, a recipient of the Rochester Rotary Paul Harris Fellows Award, a supporter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the American Heart Association, the Frisbie Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, and the Rochester Opera House. (R.M. Edgerly & Son Funeral Home)
Allen DeWolf Gamans Jr., 90, of Goffstown, died July 15, 2023. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was a sales service manager at Kalwall Corp. and started Elite Aluminum Co., later known as Classic Sunrooms. He retired at age 86, after running his business for 53 years. He was a charter member of the Goffstown Rotary Club, where he was named a Paul Harris Fellow. He served on the Goffstown Budget Committee and was chairman of the water Commission for 30 years. (French and Rising Funeral Home)
Lynn Ann (Simes) Berggren, 76, of Dover, died July 14, 2023. She was a volunteer for PTO, taught Sunday School, was a lifeguard, and was active with Dover High School Hockey. She served on multiple developmental disability boards and spoke before Congress about legislation instrumental in passing the 1990 American Disabilities Act. (Tasker Funeral Home)
James Southard Sr., 87, of Peterborough, died July 17, 2023. After retirement he and his wife moved to Sunapee, where he was a ski instructor at Mt. Sunapee well into his 70s and served as treasurer of the Sunapee School District. He was involved with the Council on Aging at the Chapin Senior Center in New London, serving as board chair for many years. While living at Rivermead Retirement Community in Peterborough. He served on the residents’ council, serving as vice president. (Jellison Funeral Home)
Sr. Pauline Morneau, CSC, (Sr. Pauline of Jesus), 89, of the Sisters of Holy Cross, Manchester, died July 12, 2023. She served the Congregation of the Sisters of Holy Cross for 70 years, entering the Congregation in 1952 and making her final vows in 1960. She taught at elementary and junior high schools in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and was principal at St. Joseph School in Attleboro, Mass. She became executive director of Assumption Communications in Worcester, Mass., then served in general administration in Montreal. In Manchester, she was administrator and superior at St. George Manor and administrative assistant to the regional team until retiring in 2016. (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)
Jan Whittemore VanTassel, 79, of Center Ossipee, died July 14, 2023. He owned and operated his own trucking company, DJ & K Trucking, which delivered propane all over the Northeast and Canada. He served for more than 40 years as a captain of the Center Ossipee Volunteer Fire Department. Upon retiring, he was made an honorary lifetime member and remained a regular fixture volunteering to help repair equipment. (Lord Funeral Home)
Howard “Bo” Beadle, 81, of Rumney, died July 13, 2023. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, he operated “Bo’s Fried Clams” at local fairs, volunteered for the Rumney Fire Department, served as a past commander for the VFW, and volunteered as a Bingo caller for the Veteran’s Home. (Mayhew Funeral Home)
Harold James “Jim” Kennedy, 79, of Wilton, died July 13, 2023. He established Gazebo Advertising and spent most of his career as a creative art director for the sporting goods company Dynamite Nobel-RWS. Upon retirement, he collected antiquarian books and was owner of Gazebo Books. He helped create and develop athletic programs in the Wilton community, including the Wilton Junior Athletic Association (WJAA) and the Wilton Men’s League which celebrated its 50th basketball season this year. He established the Michael Testa Memorial Scholarship at the men’s league, providing scholarships to Wilton-Lyndeborough graduating seniors over the years. (Michaud Funeral Home)
Countess Vita Hadik-Strachwitz, 92, formerly of Chester, died July 16, 2023. She was the only child of the former Baroness Edith (Lyncker) and Count Ludwig Adam Strachwitz von Gross-Zauche und Camminetz, and was a native of Berlin, Germany. According to a Wikipedia entry for her father-in-law, Count Bela Hadik, he was a Hungarian politician who immigrated to the United States in 1946. Bela’s father was briefly the prime minister of the Kingdom of Hungary in October 1918 under Charles IV. The family produced a long line of Hungarian royals and military officials. Countess Vita Stachwitz was married to Count Laszlo Hadik, the elder Hadik’s son, in 1956, and he died in a plane crash in 1973. (Peabody Funeral Homes & Crematiorium)
Joseph J. Falbo, 81, of Derry, died July 15, 2023. He was a 4th Degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus Council 3023 at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. He was the owner of Center Stationary in Winthrop, Mass., for more than 20 years, later working as a regional sales manager for Coverall in Stoneham, Mass. He volunteered at the food pantry at St. Thomas Aquinas, helping with the Friday Fish Fry and with Meals on Wheels. He also volunteered for Community Caregivers as a driver for those in need of rides to doctor appointments. (Peabody Funeral Homes & Crematiorium)
Henriette (Raymond) Girard, 90, of Allenstown, died July 15, 2023. She was a teacher at Pembroke Academy for 22 years, previously teaching in Sunapee. She served the Town of Allenstown as tax collector and town administrator, secretary for the Allenstown Police Department, and school district treasurer. She served on the parish council of St. John the Baptist Parish and was a member of the Ladies of Ste. Anne Sodality and the St. Therese Rosebush Society. (Roan Family Funeral Home)
Victoria F. Abbott, 77, of Sanbornton, died July 18, 2023. She taught elementary school in Arizona and Washington, and after moving to New Hampshire, taught primary grade students in Belmont and Franklin. She also operated a private kindergarten in her home on the Abbott Farm. She retired from Belmont Elementary School in 2010. She served as the co-president of the Lakes Region Retired Teachers Association. She was a Girl Scout troop leader for both her daughters and served on the executive board of the Sanbornton Historical Society. She would give tours of the historic Lane Tavern in Sanbornton while dressed in colonial costume. (Smart Memorial Home)
George J. Charland, 85, of Leesburg, Fla., and formerly of Milford, died July 14, 2023. A veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves, he was, while living in Milford for 49 years, a member of the Jaycees, Milford Chapter, serving as president and recipient of the Jaycee International award as JCI Senator Number 13491. He was also a member of the Lions Club and helped decorate the town oval at Christmas. (Smith & Heald Funeral Home)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.” – George Eliot, author (Nov. 22, 1819, to Dec. 22, 1880)