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 weeks 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.
The Rev. James R. Young Sr., 77, of Epsom, died Nov. 26, 2023. He and his wife Dorene moved to Epsom and became involved with the New Rye Union Congregational Church. He was interim pastor before being appointed pastor in 1996. He retired in 2022. He volunteered with the Boy Scouts, ran New Rye Church’s dart booth at Old Home Day every August, and enjoyed performing in the town’s annual Odd Fellows variety shows. He also coached Odyssey of the Mind and EYAA basketball at Epsom Central School, and he was a member of Pembroke Academy’s Friends of Football. (Roan Family Funeral Home – Still Oaks Chapel)
Katherine “Katy” Burns, 82, of Bow, died Nov. 22, 2023. She was a columnist for the Concord Monitor for more than 20 years and won seven N.H. Press Association awards, including three “Columnist of the Year” awards. She was a writer unafraid to take on controversial topics or to annoy (and even outrage) elected officials. Earlier in her career, she was a reporter for the Cleveland Press and then editor, reporter and columnist for two Cleveland weekly newspapers. She contributed columns to New Hampshire Magazine, New Hampshire Business Review, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Boston Globe. When living in East Cleveland, Ohio, she served on the City Council and was press secretary for John Glenn in his successful first run for U.S. Senate and for Sen. Sherrod Brown in his successful campaign for Ohio Secretary of State. (Legacy.com)
Jessica Wyman, a retired lieutenant on Nashua Fire Rescue, has died, according to a press release from the Nashua Fire Rescue. Her death was announced as a line of duty death due to occupational cancer. She dedicated 26 years to the New Hampshire fire service including 16 years with Nashua Fire Rescue starting in May of 2001 through her retirement in September of 2017. She had previously worked for Merrimack Fire Rescue as a firefighter/paramedic for nearly 10 years. She had a lengthy career as a registered nurse for Southern New Hampshire Health in the Emergency Department. In retirement, she was executive director of Inpatient and Critical Care Services. She was also director of Camp Fully Involved, a week-long camp hosted at the New Hampshire Fire Academy. A celebration of her life is planned Saturday, Dec. 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua. (Nashua Fire Rescue press release)
Fernand P. Hamel, 84, of Concord, died Nov. 26, 2023. He and his wife raised their family in Exeter and Northwood, while never forgetting their Canadian heritage. He was plant manager for Thomas Hodgson and Sons in Allenstown. He ran the Northwood Motel, then moved to Pittsburg where he ran Treats and Treasures with his second wife, founding the Pittsburg Home Center. They were named citizens of the year for their community volunteerism and engagement. (Legacy.com)
Arthur Ezra Russell, 78, of Concord, died Nov. 20, 2023. He was a lieutenant for the Concord Fire Department for more than 24 years. (Bennett Funeral Home)
Richard D. Tobin, 87, of West Lebanon, died Nov. 24, 2023. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he and his wife Ellen started their own electronics manufacturing company, Tobitron Inc., operating it for more than a decade. He served for three years as chairman of the Small Business Development Association in Washington, D.C. He and his wife were co-executive directors of the American Independence Museum and Folsom Tavern in Exeter. (Knight Funeral Home, White River Junction, Vt.)
Brian Joseph Connelly, 76, of Alton, died Nov. 26, 2023. He opened his first hearth retail store, Fireplace Village, in Auburn, Mass., later expanding to locations throughout New England. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Donald E. Tash Sr., 82, of Rochester, died Nov. 23, 2023. While living in Brentwood, he was the town building inspector in the 1970s and later served on the planning board. He was president of the Southern New Hampshire Trailblazers and co-founded the Brentwooders Snowmobile Club. (Purdy Memorial Chapel)
Richard H. Cooper, 89, of Dover, died Nov. 26, 2023. A 20-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he volunteered at Langdon Place of Dover and was volunteer of the year in 1998. He was New Hampshire Health Care Association Volunteer of the Year in 2003. In 2014, he received the Joseph D. Vaughn Award as outstanding volunteer for Strafford County. (Tasker Funeral Home)
Theodore J. “Ted” Cusson Sr., 87, of Manchester, died Nov. 26, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1987 and was appointed by former Manchester Mayor Emile Beaulieu as the administrative assistant for the city. He was a director of the Greater Manchester Development Corporation and a member of its executive committee. He was superintendent of Agencies for the Association Canado-Americaine and in 1989 was named Franco-American of the Year by the N.H. Franco-American Federation. He was a licensed N.H. real estate broker and founded Cusson Associates Property Development Group. He was a bail bondsman and Hillsborough County Superior Court officer. (Lambert Funeral Home)
Marshall Derry, 75, of Nashua and Naples, Fla., died Nov. 21, 2023. He taught in North Branford, Conn., then Salem High School, serving as vocational director. He retired from the Nashua School District after 10 years as director of the Career and Technical Education Center. (Rivet Funeral Home)
Tiffany Marshall McKenna, 58, of Hampton, died Nov. 26, 2023. She was development coordinator for the National Parks Conservation Association in 1995, and later the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. She served as director of philanthropy of the Nature Conservancy NH, director of fundraising and communication for a Safe Place in Portsmouth, major gifts officer for the American Red Cross and most recently community relations director for GATHER, formerly the Seacoast Family Food Pantry. (Remick & Gendron Funeral Home)
Nancy F. Gaver, 82, of Brookfield, died Nov. 25, 2023. She was a public school guidance counselor, school psychologist, and alternative education specialist. She and her husband founded Defern Contracting in Brookfield. She was involved with the re-emergence of Lucknow, The Castle in the Clouds, as museum manager and member of the curatorial committee. (C.E. Peaslee & Son, Inc.}
Rita Emma Purmort, 102, of Goshen, died Nov. 27, 2023. She was a veteran of the U.S. Navy WAVES and a past member of Goshen’s Zoning Borad, Conservation Commission, Budget Committee, Supervisor of the Checklist, and Historical Society. In 1958 she was one of the first members of the Goshen-Lempster School Board, a past president of the Goshen-Lempster PTC, and a lifetime member of the Twin Ridge Mountaineers Snowmobile Club. She was also a co-founder of the Newport Booster Club in 1965 and was Citizen of the Year by the Sunapee Mountain Grange in 1984. (Newton-Bartlett Funeral Home)
William Lloyd Harper, 67, of Rindge, died Nov. 18, 2023. In the 1990s, he and his climbing buddies rescued an injured climber they witnessed falling 800 feet in Huntington’s Ravine on Mount Washington. He owned West Rindge Builders and later added Cut & Core. He was a volunteer firefighter in Rindge for eight years. He also served on the zoning board, as a cemetery trustee and on the Jaffrey Rindge Ambulance Board. (Jellison Funeral Home)
Ruth Guertin Gaukstern, 90, a lifelong Nashua resident, died Nov. 22, 2023. She worked for the CIA as a foreign research analyst from 1955-1956. She was co-founder, vice president and treasurer of Ferd Corporation (general contractor) in Hollis. She was a Hunt Legacy Trustee, member of the Nashua Federation of Republican Women, member of St. Joseph Hospital Auxiliary, corresponding secretary and past president of the Good Cheer Society, and a former longtime member of the Nashua Country Club. (Farwell Funeral Home)
George L. Miller, 97, of Salem, died Nov. 23, 2023. A veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, he and his wife Chickie entertained around New England, beginning his Santa career visiting sick patients at the Free Hospital for Women in Brookline, Mass., developing the act into a clown and hobo persona practicing magic. He and his wife were members of Clowns of America Alley 54 in Salem, Mass., and helped found the Clowns of America Alley 159 in Weymouth, Mass. They often visited the Veterans Home in Tilton and other institutions. He had acting parts in a movie about Alger Hiss and the TV series “Spenser: For Hire.” (Douglas and Johnson Funeral Home)
Patrick J. Greenough, 79, of Jaffrey, died Nov. 25, 2023. He was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and was a lifetime member of John Humiston American Legion Post 11, and Jaffrey Memorial Post 5613 VFW. For many years, he proudly bore the American flag in the parades and military ceremonies in town. He had been the chair of the Memorial Day Committee. He volunteered with the Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance Service and was an assistant scoutmaster with BSA Troop 33 in Jaffrey. (Cournoyer Funeral Home)
Joan R. D’Alessio, 89, of Keene, died Nov. 17, 2023. She was a watercolorist with many of her works of art sold across the country. She developed an art history program at Trinity Christian School for grades K-8. She was also an art history guest lecturer at many elementary schools in Keene and served as a docent at the Thorne Art Gallery. (Cheshire Family Funeral Home)
Sister Joan Marie Messier, (formerly Mary Majella Joseph), 89, of Manchester, a Sister of Mercy for 71 years, died Nov. 24, 2023. She was a teacher and administrator in Catholic schools in New Hampshire, teaching at Holy Trinity in Somersworth; at St. Raphael School, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, at St. Patrick School, and at St. Joseph Junior High School in Manchester; at St. Patrick School in Berlin, at St. Joseph School in Keene, at Sacred Heart School in Lebanon, at St. John School in Laconia, at Immaculate Conception School in Penacook, and at Sacred Heart School in Nashua. For more than 25 years, she was principal at St. Christopher School in Nashua and was instrumental in building a library and computer room. (Carrier Family Funeral Home)
Jackie I. Catello, 76 of Berlin, died Nov. 28, 2023. She worked for more than 40 years at the White Mountains Community College in Berlin, as business administrator for 20 years, then financial aid administrator for more than 20 years. She spoke at financial aid high school nights for 17 years at various schools in Northern New Hampshire. (Bryant Funeral Homes)
Jacklyn Theresa (Bisson) Nadeau, 72, of Berlin, died Nov. 22, 2023. She was a longtime member of the Androscoggin Valley Hospital Auxiliary, serving twice as president and twice on the board of the New Hampshire Association of Hospital Auxiliaries. (Bryant Funeral Homes)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I’d walk right up to Heaven and bring you home again.” – Author unknown