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.
Leon C. Frechette, 87, of Allenstown, died Aug. 16, 2026. He taught woodworking for more than 35 years at Pembroke Academy. He also coached basketball and taught drivers’ education. He spent many years coaching his sons’ Little League teams. (Roan Family Funeral Home)
Ronald George Gauvin, 80, of Hooksett, died Aug. 10, 2026. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War and worked as a bank examiner for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), retiring as a field office supervisor after 27 years. He started a banking consultant business called Guiding Light Resources. He served on the Hooksett Men’s Club and the Hooksett Budget Committee. (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)
Paul A. Harrington, 92, of Hampton, died Aug. 15, 2026. He and his family were the owners of the Eatery Restaurant for 18 years. After retiring, he continued working for another 10 year running the hot lunch program at Sacred Heart School. (Remick & Gendron Funeral Home & Crematory)
Suzanne (Spooner) Jesseman, 85, of New London, died Aug. 17, 2026. Sue was a teacher in Cumberland, R.I., Bennington, Vt., and for 21 years in the Claremont School District, retiring in 2007. She served on the New London Planning Board from 1993-1996, the New London Budget Committee from 1998-2004 and then again in 2014. She was a longtime elections volunteer and volunteer coordinator. (Chadwick Funeral Service)
Rev. Shirley Jean Kaltenbach, 77, of Nashua, died Aug. 13, 2026. She was ordained as an Elder in the Church of the Nazarene and named pastor at the Community Chapel Church of the Nazarene. She served for many years as the NCLC Daycare Pastor and on-call pastor. (Davis Funeral Home)
Sister Janice (formerly Sister Pierre) Loiselle, of Windham, a Sister of Mercy for 64 years, died Aug. 13, 2026. She taught secretarial courses at the former Castle Junior College in Windham, and was director of activities of the Frances Warde Center, and N.H. Mercy finance officer. She was comptroller of Marian Court College in Swampscott, Mass., and served on the board of trustees of Catholic Medical Center and on the reconciliation board of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. She was a registered medical/surgical nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and assistant director of nursing at Warde Senior Living. (Douglas & Johnson Funeral Home)
Barbara Louise Jarvis Payson, M.D., 93, of Hanover and Thetford Center, Vt., died Aug. 17, 2026.She was an internal medicine doctor at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. She practiced at Dick’s House, Dartmouth College’s health service center. She was a troop leader and officer of the Swift Water Girl Scout Council. She sang alto with the Bel Canto Chamber Singers and was a volunteer at the Montshire Museum for decades. (Rand-Wilson Funeral Home)
Paul W. Phelps, 81, of Franklin and formerly Laconia, died Aug. 11, 2026. He taught ninth-grade social studies in Laconia, retiring in 2002. He was department head of the History Department and junior class advisor. He was track, weightlifting and football coach. In retirement, he was a volunteer defensive line coach at St. Lawrence University with his son Chris. He was summer program director for the Laconia Parks and Recreation, vice president of the Laconia Chapter of the American Red Cross, a board member for both the Lou Athanas Youth Basketball League and Laconia Pop Warner Football, LHS basketball radio broadcaster with WEMJ, vice president and board member of the Laconia Community Center, and a member of the Laconia Lodge of Elks. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home and Cremation Services)
Janis I. Silver, 77, of Nashua, died Aug. 15, 2026. She was a librarian at Mugar Library at Boston University, Rivier University Library, and at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, where she worked 28 years as a medical librarian. (Davis Funeral Home)
Christopher S. Sintros, 89, of Pelham, NH, died Aug. 12, 2026. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He served for many years on the Pelham School Board, Pelham Board of Selectmen, and Pelham Council on Aging. He was a past president of the Parish Council and treasurer of Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church. He began his career at Lowell Research Foundation and worked for many years at the George T. Johnson Company in Burlington, Mass., where he was vice president of operations. After retiring, he was a part-time school crossing guard in Pelham. (Dracut, Mass., Funeral Home)
Sister Yvette Thibault, CSC, (Sister Mary Louis des Carmes), 96, of Manchester, died Aug. 15, 2026. She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Holy Cross in 1951 and pronounced her final vows on Aug. 15, 1958. She was a primary grade teacher for eight years, a cook in various Holy Cross houses for a total of nearly 30 years, a hair stylist for 12 years, and a driver and general aide. (Lambert Funeral Home and Crematory)
Benjamin Alan Watson, 64, of Peterborough, died Aug. 15, 2026. He was an author and editor, and a leader in the slow food movement. He is credited with saving the Granite Beauty apple from “functional extinction.” He grafted countless apple trees throughout New England and helped preserve and spread varieties that might otherwise have been lost. He was the author of “Cider: Hard and Sweet,” “Heirloom Vegetables” and many other books he co-authored. (Jellison Funeral Home)
T. Walley Williams III, 94, of Hanover, died Aug. 7, 2026. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He was an engineer and an inventor. He developed a physics teaching tool that was later turned into air hockey. He worked for Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. and later Liberating Technologies, designing parts for prosthetics. Among his inventions was the Boston Elbow, now called the Boston Digital Arm System, which was the first battery-powered prosthetic elbow to restore function to people with transhumeral amputations. He also helped design the “Cookie Crusher” circuit for children’s myoelectric hands. The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists honored him with its Clinical Creativity Award in 1998, and in 2002 he was awarded honorary membership in the Academy. He was former president of the Appalachian Mountain Club and a musician, singing with the Belmont Music School, the Cantata Singers and other musical groups in the Boston area. (Knight Funeral Home & Crematory, White River Junction, Vt.)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “The better part of one’s life consists in his friendships.” – President Abraham Lincoln, Feb. 12, 1809, to April 15, 1865