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.
Warren A. Bailey, 72, of Laconia, died Aug. 22, 2025. At age 14, he obtained his broadcaster’s license and began reading the morning news at a station in Newport, launching a long radio career. He worked at WFEA in Manchester from 1972 to 1976, then became morning radio host and operations manager at WLNH 98.3 until 2002, when he became owner of WKXL until 2004. He sold advertising for Comcast Spotlight, then founded WB Media1. He interviewed national figures including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Bob Dole. He received the 2000 NHAB Broadcaster of the Year Award, the 2007 Irwin Community Recognition Award, the 2018 WEEI 101.5 Home Town Hero Award, and the 2024 Andrew L. Felker Award. In 2023, he became the first recipient of the Warren Bailey Community Service Award, created by the N.H. Association of Broadcasters to honor his legacy. He founded the Lakes Region Children’s Auction in 1982. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Raymond A. Beaudoin III, 72, of Rochester, died Aug. 22, 2025. He was the owner of his family’s oil business, Ray Beaudoin & Sons, which has served the Rochester community for 85 years and by four generations of the same family. (R.M. Edgerly & Son)
Frederick C. “Chuck” Copp, 79, of Plaistow, died Aug. 21, 2025. He was a longtime volunteer in the Plaistow Fire Department and was elected deputy chief. He also was employed as a police officer on the Plaistow Police Department, where he was the first full-time officer on the force. He later taught applied science and welding at Pinkerton Academy in Derry for many years until his retirement. (Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home)
Dr. Raymond R. Farland, DDS, 73, of Nashua, diedAug. 26, 2025. He practiced dentistry in New Hampshire for more than 40 years. He opened his own practice in Chichester in 1996 and operated it until he retired in 2024. (Legacy.com)
Judith May (Langille) Flowers, 80, of Nashua, died Aug. 23, 2025. She retired as general manager of Unitil (formerly Concord Electric) after a 25-year career. She was a 15-year member of the Concord Rotary, where she served as secretary and president. (Legacy.com)
Edward “Spud” Hammond, 88, of Lebanon and a former longtime resident of Canaan, died Aug. 23, 2025. He owned and operated the Texaco station in Canaan for many years. He was a truck driver for several companies. He was a longtime firefighter, at one time fire chief and a police officer for the town of Canaan. He was an expert welder and owned/operated a firewood company. He worked for the town of Enfield Highway Department. (Ricker Funeral Home)
Dr. Harley Willis Heath, 67, of Wolfeboro, died Aug. 20, 2025. He was chief of pediatrics at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro. He was once a research assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital, an emergency flight physician, and a pediatrician in the Indian Health Service in Alaska. He was an attending physician in the emergency room and neonatal intensive care unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital and joined the faculty of the University of Washington Medical School. He moved to Wolfeboro in 1998 and accepted a position as chief of pediatrics at Huggins Hospital, which he held until his death. He has served as physician for the Child Advocacy Center of Carroll County since its inception, physician at Brewster Academy, medical advisor to the Governor Wentworth Regional School District, and clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School. (Lord Funeral Home)
John W. Merkle, 77, of Exeter, died Aug. 18, 2025. He was an architect and co-founder of TMS Architects in Portsmouth in 1984. The firm has designed many spectacular homes on New Hampshire’s Seacoast and Lake Region, many of which have earned top architectural awards. He had a passion for historical preservation, and the firm has received numerous awards for renovations of historic sites throughout New England. (Brewitt Funeral Home)
Kathleen (Collins) Murphy, 76, of Chester, died Aug. 26, 2025. She was Concord’s school superintendent who has been on medical leave. Her husband, Thomas J. Murphy, 75, of Chester, died Feb. 16, 2025. She was formerly director of the Division of Instruction for the state Department of Education. She had been with the Concord School District since July 2020. She began her work as an elementary classroom teacher, and after 13 years in the classroom, she assumed administrative positions at the elementary and middle school levels. She was the superintendent of schools for the Hampton School District, where she worked from 2011 to 2020. (N.H. Department of Education)
Jennifer Mitchell Perkins, 51, of Bow, died Aug. 21, 2025. She was a longtime employee of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, where she was steadily promoted from executive assistant to vice president for human resources and administration. She previously served as a senior staff member for U.S. Congressman Paul Hodes and worked for many years at NEEBCO. (Bennett Funeral Home)
Gerald “Jerry” John Pinzari, 84, of Barrington, died Aug. 21, 2025. He served on the Barrington Volunteer Fire Department and rose to position of lieutenant and later captain prior to leaving the force in 1998. He was on the Town Hall Community Center Building Committee. He was a founding member of the Advisory Budget Committee after suggesting its formation at a 1975 town meeting. He served on the planning board from 1975 to 1980 and was planning board chair in 1977. He served for many years on the town and school budget committee. He was a contractor and project supervisor with Automatic Sprinkler, and later with Carlisle, and Capital Fire Protection. (Purdy Funeral Service)
Frank Raymond Rowell, 76, of Manchester, diedAug. 22, 2025. He served six years in the Army National Guard and was a Manchester firefighter for 30 years, retiring as a district chief in 2002. (Connor-Healy Funeral Home and Cremation Center)
Robert Eldredge Sheldon, 86, of Moultonborough, died Aug. 21, 2025. A U.S. Army veteran, he was curator of the Musical Instruments Collections for the Library of Congress and previously at the Smithsonian. He collected antique and valuable musical instruments. He worked alongside Dr. Frederick Fennell, founder and conductor of The Eastman Wind Ensemble, and recorded music for Mercury Records. He was a regular member of The Kennedy Center Players. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
William Seth Shepard, 90, of Tilton and Eason, Md., died Aug. 21, 2025. He was a career U.S. Foreign Service Officer, novelist, and former Republican nominee for governor of Maryland. A Fullbright Scholar, he taught in France before graduating from law school. He was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he taught international law. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1964, with assignments in Singapore, Saigon, Budapest, and Bordeaux, France. He was director of congressional affairs at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and served as a Congressional Fellow. He was appointed National Security Advisor to U.S. Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.), writing arms control proposals and advising on foreign policy. In 1990, he was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor of Maryland, with his wife Lois running for lieutenant governor. He published 14 books, including a diplomatic mystery series, several volumes of autobiographical tales, and his bestselling “Shepard’s Guide to Mastering French Wine.” (Smart Memorial Home)
Timothy J. Tyler, 74, of Plymouth, died Aug. 21, 2025. He taught for four years at the 6th Grade Annex in Salem. He served as vice president of the Salem Education Association. He was principal of the Thornton Central School in 1977, one of the youngest principals in New Hampshire at 26 years old. He was nominated for elementary principal of the year. His student-centered Mock New Hampshire Primary was featured twice on national newscasts on CBS and ABC. He served as the commissioner of the Plymouth Area Pemi-Baker Athletic League. He also coached Thornton Central School to the Pemi Baker Flag Football titles in 1981 and 1982. He oversaw a $1.38 million facility addition in 1988 at the Thornton Central School. He was a selectman and town clerk in Thornton and a member of the Thornton Beautification Committee. He was a school principal of the Pittsfield Elementary School, business administrator of the Newfound Regional School District in Bristol, director of the Hunter School in Rumney, and interim school principal in Holderness, and Lunenburg,, Vt. (Legacy.com)
Mary Suzanne Wicks, 80, of Fremont, died Aug. 26, 2025. She spent most of her career as a 4th grade teacher, first at St. James Elementary School in Haverhill, Mass., then for more than 10 years at Ellis School in Fremont. In 1986, she and her husband purchased Rowe’s Gas Station, where she worked for several years. She also served as a substitute teacher in Raymond, Deerfield, and Fremont. (Brewitt Funeral Home)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing.” – Pelé, whose real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Brazilian soccer star, Oct. 23, 2940, to Dec. 29, 2022.