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.
David Leveau Babson Jr., 86, of Ossipee, died May 3, 2024. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserves and started his own company, MNI, an independent manufacturers’ representative for regional steel fabricators. He moved to Ossipee in 1975 and raised oxen, milked cows, and trained draft horses. He served for more than 20 years in public office, as a state representative and chairman of the Agriculture Committee, and then as a multi-term Carroll County commissioner. He was a member of the N.H. Farm Bureau and served as president. (Bedford Funeral Home, Bedford, Mass.)
Charles A. Bechard, 105, Nashua, died May 3, 2024. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a Nashua alderman from Ward Six (1970-74) for two terms. He was a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service from 1956 to 1985, and in retirement, he often walked several miles per day all over Nashua. (Farwell Funeral Service)
Forrest C. Brown, 94, of Hampton Falls, died May 3, 2024. He was a 17-year member of the Hampton Falls Planning Board, including serving as chairman. He was also town auditor, trustee of the historical society, and trustee of the Hampton Falls Cemeteries Committee. He served more than 20 years as a volunteer firefighter, including as fire warden. He was a Hampton Youth Association baseball coach, assistant cub scoutmaster, member of the Order of the Eastern Star, and 71-year member of the Saint James Lodge No. 102 in Hampton. (Remick & Gendron Funeral Home)
Janet Corriveau, 78, of Manchester, died May 3, 2024. She was a third-grade teacher at Manchester’s Green Acres School and will be remembered for her Flag Day presentations, singalongs and marches, and the newly-hatched ducklings outside her classroom window. (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)
Ruth Ann Cullinane, 83, of Somersworth, died May 2, 2024. In 1968 she started a speech and language program in the Dover Public Schools. She also began a private practice providing rehabilitation services for Frisbie Memorial Hospital, several residential medical facilities, the Rural District Health Council, and the Rochester Visiting Nurses Association. In 1971, the New Hampshire Jaycees named her New Hampshire’s Outstanding Young Educator. She was the Business and Professional Women’s Outstanding Young Woman award recipient. She served on the Somersworth School Board for 12 years and was elected for two terms on the UNH Alumni Board, serving as vice-president and fundraising chairman. She and her husband Robert had once published a weekly summer newspaper, The York County News, in York County, Maine. (Purdy Funeral Service)
Stephen G. Cunningham, 81, of Nashua, died May 8, 2024. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was former executive director of the Salem Boys Club. He also served as president of the U.S. Aerobatics Foundation. (Carrier Family Funeral Home)
Robert Clement Cyr, 83, of Jackson, died May 4, 2024. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he was a welterweight boxing champion and a bodybuilder. He and his wife owned St. Cyr Salon and Spa for 55 years in Worcester, Mass., and developed a cosmetic line and a luxury skin care line. They owned the Nordic Village Luxury Mountain Getaways in Jackson, selling in 2007. They then created Nestlenook Farm on the River, an eight-room inn that was lost in a fire in 2013. They continued to offer sleigh rides, ice-skating and snowshoeing on the property, which they sold earlier this year. (Furber Funeral Home and Cremation Services)
Dorothy H. (Pickering) Davis, 96, of Swanzey and formerly of Keene, died May 1, 2024. She was choir director for the Junior Choir of West Swanzey, Children’s Methodist Choir as well as an adult choir group. She was a Girl Scout leader, cub scout den mother, and member of the PTA. She tutored high school students and belonged to the N.H. Extension Club. She was a teller and trainer at Cheshire County Savings Bank, retiring in 1988. (Cheshire Family Funeral Chapel)
Nancy J. Drew, 81, of Milton, died May 2, 2024. She was a teacher and principal of Milton Elementary School. In retirement, she was a family advocate at Head Start and volunteered for the Wall of Distinction Committee, which recognizes graduates from Nute High School. She was a trustee of the Milton Free Public Library and had dressed as the Statue of Liberty in Milton town parades, handing out copies of the U.S. Constitution. (Peaslee Funeral Home)
Robert George Egbert Jr., 80, of Gilmanton, died May 3, 2024. He worked on the Union Pacific Railroad while obtaining his doctorate in political science at Idaho State University and began his teaching career at Idaho State, then San Diego State University. In 1980, he began teaching political science at Plymouth State University, retiring in 2021. He was a member of the board of the American Civil Liberties Union.
(Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Kay Anderson Graves, 72, of Bow, died May 7, 2024. She was an educator at Merrimack Valley High School from 1974-1984 and the Bow School District from 1987-2018. She was a lifetime member of the NEA-NH and served as president of the local Bow education association. (Bennett Funeral Home)
Robert Francis Haley, 92, of Stratham, died May 5, 2024. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was a banker in Dover for more than three decades, retiring in 1994. In retirement, he was a trustee and director of Great Bay Bankshares Inc. He volunteered for the Red Cross, Dover Children’s Home, Chamber of Commerce, Junior Chamber of Commerce, Seacoast Birth Right and Enterprise Park. (Brewitt Funeral Home)
William Scott Jackson, 71, of Stratham, died May 1, 2024. He was president of Simplex Wire and Cable Co. and vice president of operations of TyCom, both subsidiaries of Tyco Corp. (Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home & Crematory)
Norma Magdalen Wells Keeler, 94, of Concord and formerly of Epsom, Meredith and North Ft Myers, Fla., died May 1, 2024. She and her husband established Keeler Family Realtors in Pembroke in 1977, retiring in 1991. She was a cub scout den mother, active member of the PTA, and member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Florida. She was a member of New Rye Congregational Church, Pembroke Congregational Church, St. Johns on the Lake Church on Bear Island in Meredith, and the Edison Congregational Church in Fort Myers, Fla. (Roan Family Funeral Home – Still Oaks Chapel)
J. Claude Laroche, 83, of Goffstown, died May 3, 2024. He was owner of Twin Press Printing, which he founded in 1971, and later, Liberty Press, which he founded in 1991. He was a Goffstown Police Department special officer and lifelong member of Goffstown Police Association. He was a member of Goffstown Rotary Club, Goffstown Parks and Recreation Commission, Richelieu Club, and Knights of Columbus. (French & Rising Funeral Home)
Jacqueline Lesieur Maynard, 93, of Nashua, died May 2, 2024. She taught for 35 years in the Nashua School District at the Arlington Street, Ledge Street, and Sunset Heights schools. (Rochette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Shirley Lucille (Fitts) (Robinson) Osgood-Bailey, 95, of Plaistow, died May 6, 2024. She was a member of the board of trustees of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace, a past president of the Haverhill Whittier Club, and editor of The Whittier Newsletter. She was also a former member of the Northen Essex Community College Alumni Advisory Board. During World War 2, she was an airplane spotter for the Aircraft Warning Service. She retired from AT&T in North Andover, Mass., with 35 years of service. (Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home)
Doris E. “Ama” Riddle, 98, of Hebron, died May 4, 2024. She was a long-time Girl Scout leader, Sunday School teacher, and volunteer at the Bridgewater-Hebron Village School. During World War II, she served in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corp. She was a member of the Union Congregational Church of Hebron, Eastern Star, and a past president of Hebron Area Women’s Group. (Emmons Funeral Home)
Robert W. Tarbell, 92, of Bedford, died May 8, 2024. He and his wife owned and operated Tarbell Real Estate, Queen City Antiques, and Antiques at Laurel Hill. He was a regional manager for Johnson O’Hare Food Broker and later served as a store manager for the State Liquor Commission. He was a member and reenactor with the N.H. Society Sons of the American Revolution. He was also an active officer with the Sons of the Union Veterans and a 65-year member of the Masonic Fraternity, belonging to Lafayette Bible 41 in Goffstown. He volunteered with the American Cancer Society transporting patients to and from their treatments. (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)
David Marshall Wilder, 85, of Peterborough, Hancock, and most recently of Englewood, Fla., died April 25, 2024. He and his father founded Peterborough’s Wilder Motors Inc., in 1963, selling Buick, Saab, Opel, and Kubota tractor until closing in 1980. He then worked in automobile sales with Tulley Buick in Nashua. He served on the Hancock Planning Board and the Hancock Board of Selectmen in the 1970s. He was treasurer of the Monadnock Automobile Dealers Association and member of the Peterborough Lions Club, serving as president in 1971-72. (Cheshire Family Funeral Home and Crematories)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now.” Leo Babauta, writer and Zen blogger