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.
Wilbur L. Ashworth, 81, of Hooksett, died Dec. 29, 2023. He was executive director in North Dakota of the Easter Seals association for 18 years, then moved to Concord, where he became executive director of N.H. March of Dimes. He was a member of several Masonic bodies, Priscilla Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star in Penacook, and a parishioner of Grace Episcopal Church in Concord. (Legacy.com)
Claire (Edwards) Berwick, 76, of Milford, died Dec. 29, 2023. She taught reading and second grade at Wilton Elementary School for 10 years, later owning a craft business and working as a bookstore manager. She was a past member and Worthy Advisor in the Order of Rainbow for Girls in Milford. She was a 50-year member of the Order of the Eastern Star in Wilton and Milford. (Michaud Funeral Home & Crematorium)
Paul A. Binette, 86, of Exeter, died Dec. 27, 2023. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he served many terms on the Exeter Planning Board and was a selectman. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, and with his wife Jeanne and grandsons owned A & J Beverage Distributors, a wine and liquor distribution trucking company. They also owned Front Street Laundromat and Binette’s Superette. He served on the New Hampshire Grocers Association board. (Stockbridge Funeral Home)
Irving H. Boudle, 84, of Stark, died Dec. 31, 2023. He was a 50-year member Master Mason with the North Star Lodge 8, Lancaster and the 32nd Degree member of the Scottish Rite. He helped start the Paul Caron Scholarship for Groveton and Stratford students and organized fundraisers and yard sales. He was a past member of the Moose Club of Groveton and organized the annual Moose Fishing Derby. He retired from Wausau Paper Company in Groveton as a millwright supervisor. (Bailey Funeral Home)
Colby D. Casey, 57, of Claremont, died Dec. 30, 2023. He started working for the York County Maine Sheriff’s Office in 1987 and in 1992 came to the Claremont Police Department, where he worked for 31 years, retiring in 2012 as captain in charge of the detective division. He currently worked part time for the department as a detective and chief recruitment officer. (Stringer Funeral Home)
Bernard J. Ellis, 89, of Swanzey and formerly of Suffield, Conn., died Dec. 28, 2023. He was school superintendent in the Suffield school system for 11 years until he retired in 1995. He had worked previously as SAU 29 assistant superintendent in Keene for five years. (Cheshire Family Funeral Chapel)
Marty Engstrom, 86, of Fryeburg, Maine, died Jan. 4, 2024. He was better known by television viewers in Maine and New Hampshire as Marty on the Mountain, who would give weather reports in his thick Maine accent ending with a forced smile on the daily WMTW-TV Channel 8 newscasts from atop Mount Washington. His real job was as the engineer who for 38 years kept the TV station’s broadcast antenna operational on the mountain. He retired in 2002. It wasn’t known by him until his first day on the job that he was to also give the weather reports from the Northeast’s highest peak. He was inducted into the Maine Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019. (WMTW.com)
The Rev. Dr. Harry R. Flad, 85, of West Lebanon, died Dec. 30, 2023. He received his masters of divinity at Bangor Theological School and served churches in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He received his Doctor of Philosophy from Boston College. (Knight Funeral Home & Crematory)
Thomas Arthur Hopkins, 81, of Manchester, died Dec. 30, 2023. The father of former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, he was a U.S. Army veteran and an all-state football player at Manchester High School Central, Class of 1960. He was inducted into the Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997. He was a 55-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and retired from the N.H. Department of Labor. (Connor-Healy Funeral Home and Cremation Center)
Douglas MacArthur Jack, 81, of Windham, died Dec. 31, 2023. He was a teacher at schools in Southern New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts, including Pinkerton Academy in Derry for many years, later at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Mass. (Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium)
Mary-Ann Jackson, 56, of Gilmanton Iron Works, died Jan. 1, 2024. She sold real estate for 30 years, with more than two decades at Keeler Family Realtors before founding her own brokerage, American Way Realtors. She served in children’s ministries at Hope in Christ Church. (Legacy.com)
Bruce R. Jasper, 80, of Croydon, died Dec. 21, 2023. He was an attorney who practiced law in Newport since 1973, as a partner in the law firm of Elliott, Jasper, Shklar, Ranson & Beaulac, LLP, where he worked for 50 years. He was a member of the Newport Rotary Club for 40 years, serving as a past president and as secretary for the past 39 years. He was moderator for the Croydon town and school district. He also served on the Croydon Zoning Board of Adjustment, Newport Senior Center, Wags & Wiggles Rescue, and the Economic Corporation of Newport (ECON). He had served on the Newport Budget Committee, Newport Water & Sewer Committee, Richards Free Library, Sullivan County United Way, and the Springfield Zoning Board of Adjustment. (Newton-Bartlett Funeral Home)
Alexandra “Sandy” Johnson, 94, of Hollis, died Jan. 2, 2024. She was a volunteer at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center for 45 years and chaired the gift shop for 22 years, later volunteering at the information desk. She also volunteered at the Corpus Christi Food Pantry and was a co-founder of Voices of the Faithful in the Nashua area. (Farwell Funeral Service)
Margaret Mary (Cavanaugh) LaRocque, 92, of Hudson, died Dec. 28, 2023. She was a teacher at St. John The Evangelist School in Hudson, then Hudson Memorial School. After a 35-year career, she retired and worked as a substitute teacher at Presentation of Mary Academy in Hudson. (Dumont-Sullivan Funeral Home)
Mary Duranty Lyster, 92, of Exeter, died Dec. 31, 2023. She and her husband Phil started Lyster’s IGA, a local grocery store in Bethlehem. She later worked as an English teacher at Exeter Junior High School, then as the reading coordinator at Rollinsford Grade School. She was principal at Newfields Elementary and the following year doubled as the Swasey Central School principal. She was director of Strafford Learning Center, then assistant superintendent in Barrington, and retired as principal of Lincoln Akerman School in Hampton Falls. She was an organizer of the Exeter Holiday Parade. (Stockbridge Funeral Home)
Becky Jean Merrow, 54, of Colebrook, died Dec. 18, 2023. She was the town clerk in Northumberland before becoming the town administrator for Lancaster, then town manager for the towns of Colebrook, Grantham, and Wolfeboro. She was a member of the Vermont Bar Association and was currently working as an attorney and licensed insurance broker in New Hampshire. (Armstrong-Charron Funeral Home)
Daniel Levere Plummer, 74, of Portsmouth, died Dec. 7, 2023. He served in the N.H. Air National Guard, and he and his wife Renee developed a showplace commercial building at Two International Drive in Pease International Tradeport. He was a licensed real estate broker and served on the boards of the NHSPCA, Prescott Park Arts Festival and Foundation, the Foundation for Seacoast Health, Mechanic Fire Society, the Granite Springs Foundation and the Renee and Dan Plummer Endowment Fund through Easter Seals New Hampshire. He was also a past member of the Portsmouth Elks. (Farrell Funeral Home)
Richard Paul Rubacka, 90, of Hanover, died Dec. 27, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he was executive chef at Dartmouth College in Hanover, where he worked for 38 years. He was a member of the N.H. Chapter of the American Culinary Federation and was known for his award-winning ice and tallow sculptures. He also created elaborate wedding cakes. (Ricker Funeral Home)
Brian E. Scothorne, 79, of Holderness, died Dec. 30, 2023. He owned a clothing store with locations throughout the Lakes Region, then was a salesman for Meredith Ford for 30 years. He owned and operated a restaurant called Riverside in Ashland for five years. (Mayhew Funeral Homes & Crematorium)
Michael Thomas Taggett, 59, of Meredith , died Dec. 29, 2023. He was a volunteer firefighter for the Town of Meredith for the last 36 years, serving as engineer, then promoted to captain in 2001, serving until his death. For the last 24 years, he worked as a finish carpenter with Inter-Lakes Builders. (Mayhew Funeral Home)
Carlene Thomas Whitcomb, 54, of Littleton, died Dec. 28, 2023. She worked as a nurse in the pediatric unit at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. In 1994 she joined the obstetrics unit at Littleton Regional Healthcare, where she held several positions. She served on the board of directors for Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, as the assistant treasurer for the Littleton Hospital Auxiliary, and on the advisory committee for the Health Science Program at Littleton High School Career and Technical Center. (Ross Funeral Home)
James P. Wiswell, 77, of Berlin, died Dec. 28, 2023. He served as a Berlin City Council member for several years and one term in the State Legislature. He was an iron worker for many years and worked most recently at Santa’s Village in Jefferson. (Bryant Funeral Home)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi, Oct. 2, 1869, to Jan. 30, 1948