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.
John B. Howe, 78, of Manchester, died Oct. 9, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he was president and owner of City Fuel Co., starting there as general manager in 1970, purchasing the business in 1973. He was the board chairman of the New England Fuel Institute. He purchased Dave’s Septic Company in 1981 and sold it in 2019. He served on numerous boards, including the Manchester Planning Board, Greater Manchester City Library, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, serving as vice president, director and past president of Cathedral Credit Union, director of Catholic Medical Center, N.H. Better Home Heating Oil Council, as chairman and director, Granite YMCA, as chairman and director, and Camp Mi-Te-Na, as chairman. (Rivet Funeral Home)
Donald L. O’Sullivan, 73, of Pelham, died Oct. 8, 2023. He was employed for 31 years at Multivision, where he served as president alongside his longtime friend and business partner, Jay Heard. He traveled in his role as cameraman and videographer. He retired in January after 18 years with BAE Systems. (Dracut (Mass.) Funeral Home)
Mary Ann Laliberte, 99, of Nashua, died Oct. 9, 2023. She worked as a registered nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua and retired after 20 years from the Nashua Community Health Department. She was a member of the N.H. State Nursing Association and the New Hampshire Hospice Association. She assisted families who had lost a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). She volunteered at Home, Health and Hospice Care. She was a Eucharistic Minister at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Nashua. (Zis-Sweeney and St. Laurent Funeral Home)
William M. Corbett Jr., 73, of Hooksett, diedOct. 6, 2023. He worked for three decades at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and retired as director of research administration. (Legacy.com)
Ellen-Ann (Thomson) Robinson, 73, of Surf City, N.C., and formerly of North Hampton and Litchfield, died Sept. 22, 2023. While in Litchfield, she was active in the PTA and served as a member of the town’s planning and zoning boards. She also served on the school board for 20 years. She was elected to the state legislature in 1983 and served for five terms. She served on the House Education and Appropriations Committees and was instrumental in education funding legislation and legislation establishing state guidelines for home schooling. She was Hillsborough County director of Health and Human Services until her retirement in 2015. (Remick & Gendron Funeral Home – Crematory)
Norman Lepine, 83, of Bedford, died Oct. 8, 2023. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard. During that time, he established his own jazz band playing the tenor saxophone, entertaining many at various clubs and wedding venues. In 1988, he fulfilled a lifelong dream of owning a restaurant with his wife bought The Lobster Boat Restaurant in Merrimack, retiring in 1998. (Rochette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
Bonnie Lee Wyatt Wright, 68, of Whitefield, died Oct. 7, 2023. She was a dispatcher for N.H. State Police Troop F and for Bethlehem Fire and Police departments. She dispatched one of the North Country’s worst tragedies, the shootings in Colebrook that resulted in the deaths of two troopers, a judge and newspaper editor in August of 1997. (Bailey Funeral Home)
Rosalind Ekman Ladd, 89, of Lancaster and Providence, R.I., died Oct. 6, 2023. She was a professor of philosophy at Wheaton College for more than 30 years and a visiting professor in biomedical ethics at Brown University. She accomplished academic work in the areas of children’s rights, especially in health care, medical decision-making and women’s issues. She served as a member of the board for the RI Committee for the Humanities and volunteered on various medical ethics. In retirement, she wrote articles for the N.H. Historical Society and the Coos County Democrat. She served on the board of directors for the Lancaster Historical Society and volunteered at Weeks Memorial Hospital and Weeks Memorial Library. (Bailey Funeral Home)
Richard R. Gardner Sr., 78, of Northwood, died Oct. 7, 2023. He started his own business, Gardner and Sons Towing, in 1984 and was a long-time member of the N.H. Towing Association. He was also a carpenter for John Sauls at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. (Brewitt Funeral Home)
Ronald S. Hawkins, 92, of Milan, died Oct. 7, 2023. He was a U.S. Army veteran and a rural mail carrier for the Milan and Berlin post offices. He was a former school board member, town moderator and sexton for the Milan cemeteries. (Bryant Funeral Homes & Crematory)
Carol A. Couture, 85, of Berlin, died Oct. 5, 2023. She was a long-time member of the Business & Professional Women’s Organization and had served as the past state president. She served on the St. Kieran Parish Council, the Berlin Planning Board, the mental health board and the City Charter Commission. (Bryant Funeral Homes & Crematory)
Daniel N. Richardson, 75, of Manchester, died Oct. 10, 2023. He was a Spanish teacher at Concord High School, where he spent 34 years starting in 1971. (Connor-Healy Funeral Home and Cremation Center)
Richard M. Muffoletto, 83, of Jaffrey and formerly of Long Island, N.Y., aged 83, died Oct. 10, 2023. He started his own electrical contracting company, Mansfield Contracting (and other related companies) which specialized in large public projects in New York City including renovations at Rikers Island, the Bronx Zoo, the Statue of Liberty and Yankee Stadium. He was a major contractor for the landmark “Building 63” on the island of Yeouido in Seoul, Korea, which at the time was the tallest building outside North America. He worked with the FBI in the 1970s and 1980s assisting in uncovering corruption in construction. He supported the FBI’s ABSCAM investigation which led to the convictions of seven members of Congress. He formed Montgomery Associates Inc. providing construction management and business expertise to expanding companies and companies in distress. He founded Lock & Leave to provide modular mini-storage on U.S. military installations. (Cournoyer Funeral Home)
Carol D. “Penny” Despres, 81, of Nashua, died Oct.6, 2023. She was president of the Marlow Womens Society during the nineties and was a volunteer at Mount Hope School. She served on the social life committee of Infant Jesus Church and decorated the church each year for the Christmas season. (Farwell Funeral Service)
Major Robert J. Corti, USAF Ret., 91, of Portsmouth, died Oct. 5, 2023. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1952 and became a commissioned officer in 1954. He served in Korea, flew 178 combat missions in the Vietnam War, and saw service during the Cold War. He was a navigator in the B-26, then promoted to co-pilot, and eventually pilot of the B-47 and KC-135. He served over 20 years until his retirement and honorable discharge in 1972. He was the manager and then later became the owner of Jiffy Copy Center, formerly of Portsmouth, which closed when he retired. (J. Verne Wood Funeral Home and Buckminster Chapel)
John F. Wilson, 90, of Peterborough, died Oct. 5, 2023. He joined the Princeton University faculty in 1960, where he remained until his retirement in 2003. He was a historian of American religious history. He was director of the Princeton Project on Church and State and was president of the American Society of Church History. He was instrumental in developing the university’s residential college system and served as Dean of the Graduate School until he retired. He also served on the boards of Northfield Mount Hermon School, Union Theological Seminary, and Educational Testing Service. (Jellison Funeral Home)
Donald “Archie” T. Archambeault, 61, of Newfields, diedOct. 9, 2023. He opened his own shop, Newmarket Printing, before pursuing a career in heating, ventilation and air conditioning, operating his own HVAC business, Piscassic HVACR. He belonged to golf and softball leagues, coached youth baseball and served on the Newmarket Polish Club suspension committee, becoming a PAC director from 2018-2022. (Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home & Crematory)
Yvonne B. (Willmer) Gosselin, 84, of Goffstown, died Oct. 6, 2023. She and her husband owned A. Gosselin Steel Inc. in Auburn. She was a longtime volunteer for the Salvation Army in Manchester, serving on the advisory board and as a member of the annual Santa Fund Toy Shop distribution. (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)
Carl J. Svenson, 73, of Loudon, died Oct. 8, 2023, as the result of a helicopter crash in Croydon. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was a helicopter pilot for JBI Helicopters for 35 years. He held many airplane and helicopter certifications and served as a flight instructor. (Roan Family Funeral Homes)
Mary Margaret Koloski, 68, of Claremont, died Oct. 6, 2023. She co-owned the family business, Time-Out Americana Grill, with her son. She owned an earlier family business, Hullabaloo, serving sandwich wraps and friendly conversations. One of her favorite family traditions was opening her restaurant’s doors each holiday season to those in need for 18 years. (Stringer Funeral Home)
Mark Kimball Murphy, 69, of Claremont, died Oct. 6, 2023. He was a special education teacher at Mascoma Valley Regional High School for seven years before becoming assistant principal. The Class of 1995 dedicated their yearbook to him. In 1998, he received a New Hampshire Excellence in Education Award as New Hampshire Assistant Principal of the Year. He was a member of the Canaan Lions Club, helping create the Canaan Motocross Raceway and Elliott Baseball Field. He was a certified umpire and served on the Little League Commission. (Stringer Funeral Home)
Anne Shirley Ricker, 85, of Charlestown, died Oct. 6, 2023. She operated her own upholstery business, Anne’s Upholstery and Antiques, which was a downtown staple. She served many years as a volunteer EMT with the Charlestown Ambulance Service. She was a 50-plus year member of the VFW. (Stringer Funeral Home)
James A. Cannistraro, 62, of Concord, died Oct. 9, 2023. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1980 he was accepted into the Concord Chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America. His baritone voice resonated with passion when performing with The Concord Coachmen. He volunteered at Concord Hospital. (Waters Funeral Home)
Dr. Charlotte J. Sanborn, 98, of Hanover, died Oct. 7, 2023. She began her career as a biostatistician in New Hampshire in 1957 and held many positions during her career, as director of community services for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Mental Health Center, director of consultation and education at West Central Mental Health in Hanover, and director and Counselor for the Faculty-Employee Assistance Program at Dartmouth College, where she was an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry since 1977. She was a consultant for National Institute of Mental Health as well as for several universities. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)
WORDS OF WISDOM: “Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.” – Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama), who according to Buddhist tradition, lived in either the 5th or 6th century
