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.

Mildred Arlene Beach, 101, of Wolfeboro, died April 6, 2025. She was executive secretary of the Lakes Region Association (LRA) and promoted travel and tourism in the Lakes Region and the state for more than 40 years. She was elected to the state legislature for three terms from 1988-1994 and was a founder of the N.H. Travel Council and the Lakes Region Attractions. She was also a trustee of the Eastern States Exposition and managed New England’s booth at the 1964-65 World’s Fair in Flushing, N.Y. She also helped found WASR-AM Radio in Wolfeboro in 1971 and had a weekly program called “Kaleidoscope.” (Lord Funeral Home)

Ronald Arthur Cole, 84, of Belmont, died April 15, 2025. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He served on the Dover Planning Board from 1991 to 2011 and as chairman beginning in 1994. He was a fixture at Woodman Museum in Dover, performing at fundraisers as Sen. John Hale. From 2008 to 2015, he served as assistant and head soccer coach for the Dover High School girls JV team. He wrote a column for Foster’s Daily Democrat called Dover Doins’, which ran until 2018, when he and his wife Patty relocated to Belmont. (Purdy Funeral Home)

Harold E. “Pete” Currier Jr., 75, of Meredith, died April 12, 2025. He was a captain with the Meredith Fire Department and member of the Muster Team. In retirement he was cemetery groundskeeper in Meredith. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)

John C. Fanaras, 97, of Concord, died April 11, 2025. He was a pharmacist for 60 years and founded the Fanaras Pharmacy in 1951, which later merged in 1969 with Kenneth Fortier of Fortier’s Pharmacy to form The Prescription Center. He also served on the board of directors of First NH Bank and was a member of Bektash Shriners Temple. (Bennett Funeral Home)

Paul W. Gowen, 87, of Rochester, died April 9, 2025. He was a U.S. Army veteran and served as a sergeant in the Army Reserves. He began his career as a patrolman with the Rochester Police Department, becoming a sergeant. He joined the Durham Police Department and rose through the ranks from lieutenant to police chief, serving the department for 21 years. He was president of the Rochester Police Association and the Strafford County Police Association in the 1960s. In the late 1970s, he joined the executive board of the N.H. Police Association. He was also the coordinator for the N.H. Chief of Police Torch Run for the Special Olympics during the 1980s. (R.M. Edgerly and Son Funeral Home)

Martin Joseph Kashulines, 95, of Manchester, died April 11, 2025. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, he owned and operated the Cracker Barrel grocery store in Hopkinton. He volunteered with the Lions Club and was president of the New Hampshire Food Industry Credit Union. (Bennett Funeral Home)

Maria (Ragonese) Knee, 75, of Fremont, died April 12, 2025. She taught at the School Street School in Lebanon for seven years starting in 1972. After moving to Fremont, she started Fremont Early Learning Environment, which she owned and operated for 32 years. In 1989, she began teaching at Deerfield Community School, retiring in 2016. She was known for her early and innovative use of digital tools and was also honored at the 2008 New Hampshire Excellence in Education Awards (“The EDies”) for her dedication to teaching. (Brewitt Funeral Home)

Norman L. Major, 91, of Plaistow, died April 15, 2025. His list of accomplishments on behalf of his town and state were many, including obtaining funding for the New Rockingham County Complex, moving the town library to a larger building, expanding the water system, and creating a public safety complex. A veteran of the U.S. Army, he worked for Bell Telephone Laboratories and its successor companies from 1961-1996, retiring as an engineering manager. He was a state representative from Plaistow from 1996 to 2022 and was the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the Rockingham County Legislative Delegation. He served for many decades on the Plaistow Board of Selectmen, Budget Committee, Board of Adjustments, Time Capsule Committee, Old Home Day Committee, 225th Anniversary Committee, and as the assistant moderator for the town and Timberlane Regional School District. He was a member of the Lions Club for more than 50 years and a member of the Knights of Columbus.  He served on the building committee in 1964-1965 for the new Holy Angels Catholic Church in Plaistow (now St Luke the Evangelist Parish). He was a leader in the Scouting community and ran the Pioneering Program for the National Scout Jamboree for 24 years. (Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home)

Barbara Brown Pressly, 87, of Nashua, died April 11, 2025. She was a Nashua alderman and served as a state representative and state senator, a public service career that lasted more than 35 years. She authored and successfully enacted landmark legislation that enabled cities and towns to establish conservation funds supported by revenue from the development of large open parcel spaces. Her leadership as an alderman helped preserve nearly 900 acres of open space, including the Terrell Homestead and Southwest Conservation Areas. She was involved in Nashua’s purchase of Pennichuck Water Works in 2012. (Davis Funeral Home) 

Jeannine M. (Thibeault) Smith, formerly Sr. Mary Laboure, 93, of Concord, died April 15, 2025. From 1949 to 1979, she was a Sister of Mercy and taught in parochial schools in Manchester, Concord, Berlin, Lebanon and one year in her hometown of Lincoln. She spent 33 years in Florida and three years in Colorado after leaving the convent. (Roan Family Funeral Home)

Ralph White, 98, of North Hampton, died April 10, 2025. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving as an infantry officer at age 19. He was president of Davidson Rubber Company of Dover, a supplier of molded plastic products for the automotive industry. He was promoted to group vice president of Ex-Cell-O Corp., responsible for Davidson Rubber and three other divisions with 10 manufacturing plants and 6,000 employees. He later served as chairman and CEO of Troy Mills in Troy. He was president of the N.H. Business and Industry Association and served on the N.H. Industrial Development Authority and the N.H. Business Finance Authority. He also served on the executive board of the Whittemore School of Business at UNH and on the board of the Community College in Stratham. He was a member of the original Pease Development Authority and served on the boards of several companies including Strafford Savings Bank, PSNH, Exeter Trust Company, Troy Mills, Inc, J.A. Wright Company, J.D. Cahill Company, and D.G. O’Brien Company. (Remick & Gendron Funeral Home-Crematory)

WORDS OF WISDOM: “We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” – May Sarton, poet, May 3, 1912, to July 16, 1995