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.
Tanya Robin Margaret Baker, 60, of Epping, died Aug. 27, 2026. She volunteered for many years at the Epping Community Church and helped run the local food pantry as well as the town soup kitchen known as Soup of the Day Cafe. (Stockbridge Funeral Home)
Shirley Brown Bladen, 84, of Cornish, died Sept. 1, 2026. She and her husband Bob moved to Cornish in 1978 and opened the Cornish General Store. She volunteered with the Cornish Fair Association and served seven years as treasurer. (Stringer Funeral Home)
Paulette Marie (LaFlamme) Bourgeois, 82, of Gilford, died Sept. 1, 2026. She had a distinguished coaching career which earned her induction into the Saint Anselm College Hall of Fame in 2006. According to her listing on the St. Anselm Hawks website, she is the winningest coach in the history of the Saint Anselm College women’s tennis program. She guided the team to an 82-57 overall record during her 11-year career with the Hawks. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Raymond Maurice Demars, 93, of Manchester, died Aug. 31, 2026. He served in the Air Force National Guard and was dean of Students at New Hampshire Vocational Technical College in Manchester and a guidance counselor at Hillside Junior High School. He coached baseball with North Little League and also coached college golf and basketball. (Legacy.com)
The Rev. Dr. David L. Doyle, 72, of Concord, died Aug. 26, 2026. He was pastor at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Hollis, Maine; Ashland Baptist Church, and Holderness Community Church. He also served as pastor at United Baptist Church in Concord for many years. (Waters Funeral Home)
Ann Virginia (King) Farrelly, 93, of Concord, died Aug. 26, 2026. She and her husband Joe owned a summer home on Pleasant Lake in Deerfield, where they were involved as stewards of the lake. She was a registered nurse and worked at the Concord Clinic. (Waters Funeral Home)
Mary S. French, 93, of Pittsfield, died Aug. 26, 2026. She was an artist in fiber arts, painting, and drawing, as well as poetry. She was a member of the Yogurt Poets of Concord and the Percheron Poets of Boscawen, who published her work called “A Remembering.” She was a 73-year member of Daughters of American Revolution and was chaplain and first vice regent of the Captain Andrew Buntin Chapter DAR. (Legacy.com)
Matthew Higgins, 88 of Concord, died Aug. 17, 2026. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, he was a poet, a published author of books and crossword puzzles circulated in newspapers nationwide. He held a doctorate in library administration from Simmons College in Boston. He was the editor of Granite State Library and contributed various items to other library publications. He was a member of the American Library Association, the New England Library Association, the New England and New Hampshire archivists groups, and the Committee to Preserve the Documentary Heritage of New Hampshire. (Legacy.com)
Dan G. Stauffacher, 78, of Pembroke, died Aug. 30, 2026. He held his Doctor of Ministry degree from Chicago Theological Seminary and was pastor of Burr Ridge United Church of Christ in Burr Ridge, Ill., and Geneva Congregational Church in Geneva, Ill., serving seven years at each church. In 1995, he moved to New Hampshire and was pastor of the United Church of Christ in Pembroke for 10 years. He was pastor of Faith Meeting House Church in Allenstown. (Roan Family Funeral Home)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.” – Wendell Erdman Berry, from “The Peace of Wild Things,” Aug. 5, 1934, to Aug. 31, 2026, American novelist, poet, and farmer