Notable New Hampshire Deaths: Dover Man Accompanied Nixon to China; Former Fire Standards Chief; Former Manchester Police Chief

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Tabitha Gilman Tenney was considered by scholars to be an early feminist who wrote a two-volume novel in 1801 that attacked the delusions encouraged by romantic literature. Titled “Female Quixotism Exhibited in the Romantic Opinions and Extravagant Adventures of Dorcasina Sheldon,” it was the most popular novel of the time period, prior to “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” according to her Wikipedia entry. She lived in Exeter and was a teenager during the Revolutionary War. She married former Army surgeon Samuel Tenney in 1788. He served three full terms as a U.S. Congressman from 1800 to 1807. She died in 1837 and is buried beside her husband in the Winter Street Burial Ground in downtown Exeter.

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.

Barry J. Bush, 78, of Ogunquit, Maine, died Oct. 14, 2024. He was the first Chief of N.H. Fire Standards & Training, where he worked for 24 years from 1969 to 1993, initially under the Department of Education in Concord. He organized New Hampshire into seven districts since training was scattered around the state in up to 50 districts. He developed the statewide certification program for firefighters and fire officers and developed a statewide testing program.  He was influential in getting the statewide EMS service into the fire service and initiated the legislation that created the New Hampshire Fire Academy in Concord. He taught SCUBA diving out of Diver’s Down in Manchester and later the seacoast for more than 20 years. In retirement, he operated the U.S. Coast Guard-certified charter vessel “Seafari” for fishing, SCUBA diving, coastal cruising and whale watching out of Kittery, Maine. He owned and operated Pepperrell Cove Marine Services in Newington, doing underwater marine construction and mooring maintenance services with his son Bryan. (Lucas & Eaton Funeral Home, York, Maine)

Michael James Carver, 63, of Lisbon, died Oct. 9, 2024. Since 2002, he was an auctioneer, appraiser, and owner of Ammonoosuc River Auction Co. in Lisbon. He was a Lisbon selectman. While living in Littleton, he repaired and sold antique furniture, earning a reputation as Dr. Carver, “The Furniture Doctor.” He and his wife operated Ammonoosuc River Trading Company & Marketplace from 1998 to 2006, selling antique and reproduction furniture and collectibles. (Ross Funeral Home)

Patrick L. “Paddy” Culbert, 76, of Pelham, died Oct. 9, 2024. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was a two-term state representative. He retired from Facilitec Inc., where he was a regional operational manager.  He owned J.P. Appliances in Lowell, Mass., for many years. He was a former commander of the American Legion Post 100 in Pelham and a member of the Pelham Planning Board for more than 30 years. (Pelham Funeral Home)

Mark L. Driscoll, 76, ofWells Beach, Maine, died Oct. 16, 2024. A U.S. Army veteran, he began a 31-year career with the Manchester Police Department that started in 1972 when he was hired as a patrolman, to becoming chief of police in 1996. He was a graduate of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., and was instrumental in acquiring the Manchester department’s national accreditation. He worked with community partners to establish the department’s first mounted horse patrol. He retired in 2003 to Wells, Maine, where he launched the fishing/lobster boat “Three Ladies,” named for his wife and two daughters, and began a second career as a registered Maine guide and USCG captain. (Bibber Memorial Chapel, Wells, Maine)

Judith Lynn George, 68, of Manchester, died Oct. 9, 2024. She worked for Cross Insurance in Manchester and was the former vice president of associates for the N.H. Home Builders Association. She served on the YMCA board of directors and was president of the Insurance Agents of New Hampshire. She was also president of the Hopkinton High Alumni Association. (Legacy.com)

John Jacob Hoover, 53, of Litchfield, died Oct. 10, 2024. He served with InFaith in New England for 15 years,  ministering in local nursing homes to the elderly. (Peabody Funeral Homes & Crematorium)

Robert L. James, 80, of Dover, died Oct. 13, 2024. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was a pilot flying C-141s, on active duty during the Vietnam Conflict. He accompanied President Richard Nixon’s diplomatic trip to China to help open relations with the U.S. He retired from the Air Force as a major. (McIntire-McCooey Funeral Home,  South Berwick, Maine)

Sherman Arthur Lovering, 99, of Keene, died Oct. 6, 2024. A U.S. Army Air Corp veteran who served in World War II flying in B-25s, he taught at Keene State College for 32 years and helped create the special education department and several other departments including the audio-visual department, psychology courses for the nursing program, and the college testing center. He also provided psychological testing services for the Keene Police Department. He worked with the N.H. State Department of Education and published “We Must Deliver,” a document that advocated providing education to all children regardless of intellectual disabilities. (DiLuzio Foley And Fletcher Funeral Homes)

Nora Teresa “Tess” Mulkern, 90, of Glen, died Oct. 12, 2024. She and her husband Tom ran the family’s Oak Lee Lodge, later renamed the Shannon Door Pub. She was bartender, cook, baker, chambermaid, accountant and occasional property manager. She also helped Tom run the Wentworth Golf Club in Jackson for many years. (Furber & White Funeral Home)

Michael H. Mullavey, 83, of Franklin, died Oct. 15, 2024. He was Franklin’s Citizen of the Year, honored by the city and the Masons for his devotion to the city, improving the public parks and revitalizing downtown. He was instrumental in building the original TRIP Center and worked on various city boards and committees. He was also named Sportsman of the Year by Franklin High School.  The Lakes Region Habitat for Humanity honored him for constructing 20 houses in 10 years, and he was treasurer and past president of the Franklin Rotary Club. (Smart Memorial Home)

F. Robert “Ozzie” Osgood, 87, of Grantham, died Oct. 12, 2024. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a  Grantham police officer, member of the Auxiliary State Police, and emergency management director. He served on the school board and was a town moderator, school district moderator, bus driver and sanitation worker.  He formed Ozzie’s Country Band and performed for more than 40 years.  He worked for Split Ball Bearing for 43 years. (Newton-Bartlett Funeral Home)

Janice A. (Benard) Sinotte, 86, of Manchester, died Oct. 12, 2024. A licensed practical nurse, she devoted more than 1,500 hours of volunteer work at Catholic Medical Center. She was chairman of the Jolliet Club in Manchester and volunteered at the Palace Theatre. (Connor-Healy Funeral Home and Cremation Center)

Sr. Rolande Theroux, pm (Sr. Marie-du-Bon-Conseil), 87, of Manchester, died Oct. 15, 2024. She made her religious profession in 1958 and served in the Congregation of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary for more than 66 years. She taught and was principal at various elementary schools in Rhode Island and New Hampshire. She was principal at Presentation of Mary Academy High School in Hudson and was an Instructor in the Department of Education, as well as director of student services at Rivier University. She was assistant treasurer in the Provincial Administration in Manchester from 1993 to 2014. From 2015 to 2024, she was director of the development fund for the Sisters of Presentation of Mary until she retired in 2024. (Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory)

Judith Ann Todd, 80, of Epsom, died Oct. 10, 2024. She taught in Canterbury and Pembroke and was activities director at McKerley Nursing Home in Concord, where she founded the Therapeutic Recreation Society branch for the N.H. Recreation and Park Association. She was director of a statewide program called Folks-Recreation from 1972-1974 and program director at Havenwood Retirement Community. She volunteered at the Epsom Public Library and was a charter member of the Elwood O. Wells, Unit 112, American Legion, serving as chaplain, secretary and treasurer. (Bennett Funeral Home)

WORDS OF WISDOM: “Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman, American abolitionist and activist, March 1822 to March 10, 1913

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