Remembering those we lost in 2021

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Writer | Jan 8, 2022

Staff photo by Don Himsel^^Mayor Bernie Streeter, TV-13 mayoral forum, August 27 2003.

Having finally opened the proverbial door and entered 2022, take time, if you haven’t already done so, to remember those close to you who you lost in 2021.

Each year, around the time we bid Father Time adieu and welcome the New Year’s babe, I renew today my tradition of paying tribute to local folks we lost over the past year, in this case a largely forgettable 2021.

And each year this essay comes with a reminder to readers that not seeing your loved one’s name in this space doesn’t in any way suggest his or her life isn’t worthy of a year-end tribute.

While every life is worth celebrating, and every passing worth mourning, it’s the men and women we feel had the widest, and most profound, impact on their communities to whom we remember today.

Joanne C. Head, 90, well-known in Amherst and Milford for her involvement in politics and service on many committees as a former state representative, died Jan. 1.

Elizabeth "Lizzy" Croke

A Jan. 2 crash claimed the life of 36-year-old Danielle Wilson of Pelham. The same day, Loraine Battey, career librarian in the Hudson school district and Hills Memorial Library, died at 90.

Longtime teacher and retired Nashua High School principal Richard “Dick” Burpee died Jan. 4 at age 74. Well-known auto repair shop owner Ronald Latulippe, a founding member of the Nashua Police Athletic League (Nashua PAL), was 68 when he passed Jan. 5 of COVID-related complications.

Also passing on Jan. 5 at the age of 68 was Kevin C. Farwell, a recognizable radio voice in Greater Nashua for more than 40 years. Justin D. Marandos, educator whose 15 years at Fairgrounds Middle School made him “a Falcon at heart,” was just 43 when he passed Jan. 5.

Robert A. Paul, also a career educator who taught at Bishop Guertin and Hollis High School and was principal at Amherst Street, Birch Hill and Hollis elementary schools, died at 77 on Jan. 6.

Andre Pelletier, for 43 years an equipment operator for the city who “truly adored his job,” died Jan. 12 at age 68.

Patricia (Fifield) Grenier, a Nashua High teacher who also coached all three girls teams at the time — basketball, softball and field hockey — passed Jan. 14 at 76.

Lifelong Milford resident James E. Heald, co-owner of the Smith & Heald funeral home for 50 years, died Jan. 16 at age 89. Former state representative, Hudson Planning Board member and home builder Darrell Wagner was 78 when he died Jan. 19.

Louise Infanti, beloved lifelong teacher in Amherst and Milford who received the Outstanding Elementary Teachers of America award during her career at Garden Street School, passed on Jan. 20.

Milford resident Alan J. Woolfson, who died Jan. 22 at age 66, left a legacy of community volunteerism for which he was recognized as Business Leader of the year and Milford Citizen of the Year.

Three-term Nashua Board of Education member William Mosher, who also ran for alderman and an avid commuter rail proponent, passed Feb. 1 at 85.

Physical education teacher Daniel Murray, a star athlete who led Milford High to the 1972 state basketball championship then went on to become a successful MHS coach himself, died unexpectedly on Feb. 7. He was 66.

Jonathan C. Cheney, an honors scholar who went on to become a school counselor, including a stint at Nashua Children’s Home, was president of the National School Counselors Association when he passed Feb. 9 at age 39.

Nashua native Davis P. Thurber, a member of the banking family with a “reputation for financial brilliance” who was named president of the former Second National Bank at age 39, died Feb. 14 at 95.

Jayson Darula, 65, “truly a dedicated family man” who served on the Mont Vernon school board and coached lacrosse and baseball, list a valiant battle with cancer on March 12.

Bishop Guertin graduate Cara E. Sevigny, a “devoted math teacher” for 17 years at Alvirne High School, was just 39 when she passed March 13.

An horrific crash on the Everett Turnpike claimed the life of Merrimack resident and Bishop Guertin graduate Elizabeth “Lizzy” Croke, who was 20 and was on her way home from work.

Linda Kipnes, community volunteer extraordinaire who served on many boards and committees and founded the butterfly garden at Benson Park, died April 16.

Nashua native Sandra Lee (Demers) Mangekian, 60, died in her Fairlawn, Virginia home, the result of an April 20 homicide. A pickup truck crash April 22 in the town of Sutton claimed the life of Nashua resident Jonathan Mainguy, age 35.

Gregory Surbey, who ran for alderman and state representative after moving to Nashua and becoming involved in the “Free State” movement, was 37 when he died in early May under circumstances that have yet to be determined.

The Brookline community lost a well-known firefighter with the death on May 11 of Lt. Brian Moore, who was 57.

Donald C. Davidson Sr., who at age 24 became an Eastern Airlines pilot and went on to lead its flight operations division while also serving as a Nashua alderman, board president and mayor whose second term included Money Magazine’s selection of Nashua as the “most livable city in America,” passed May 28 at age 82.

Florence Canny, a familiar face for 25 years as school athletic department administrative assistant in the Al Harrington era, died June 3 at 86.

Career educator Milford Geraldine “Gerry” Schappals, who opened “The Book Shelf,” Nashua’s first book store, taught at local elementary schools and became the district’s Elementary Curriculum and Instruction supervisor, was 103 when she passed June 9.

A motorcycle crash June 9 claimed the life of BG graduate and star athlete Paige Parkinson; she was 25. On June 12, Litchfield resident Joseph Romano was also killed in a motorcycle crash.

Bedford teen Charlie Zink, nephew of NH Congressman Chris Pappas, drowned on June 20 while swimming with friends at Sebbins Pond. For 30 years a popular first-grade teacher in Nashua, Elaine M. St. Jacques was 71 when she passed July 5.

The “Candy Man,” Douglas W. Nelson, the beloved owner and operator of Nelson’s Candy in Wilson, died July 7 at age 77. Retired Nashua police Lt. Stephen Doyle passed at 68 on July 10.

The woman to whom “nobody said no,” Meri (Zanleone) Goyette, completed a full life of community service, including he legacy as a major benefactor and supporter of the arts, on July 23. She was 95.

Career Nashua firefighter Maurice “Moe” Trottier, who died July 27 at age 94, was also a longtime fire commissioner. U.S. Air Force veteran Clarence J. Girouard, whose “passion was being Santa Claus in person and online for handciapped children who could not leave their house or the hospital,” was 79 when he passed July 29.

The unexpected death on July 30 of Gary Marquis saddened the legions of ice-cream lovers who frequented The Big 1 on Concord Street; he and his wife Jeanne ran the shop for nearly 25 years.

Scott M. Mullin, a Milford resident whose passion for motorsports led to his family founding Souhegan Valley Motorsports in 2005, died at age 38 on Aug. 1. Nashua resident Jared Daly was 35 when he was killed in what police ruled as a homicide.

Tyler Blanchette, the Hudson teen who fought a valiant battle against brain cancer while running “Big Papa’s Cocoa Stand on Ferry Street to benefit Alzheimer’s awareness, died Aug. 27.

Judge Kenneth F. McLaughlin, whose career on the bench began at Nashua district court when he was 29, died Aug. 28 at age 92. Outstanding athlete Peter A. Yeaton Jr., who retired after 40 years teaching and coaching baseball in Hollis, died at 67 on Sept. 6.

Retired Hudson police Sgt. Donna Ann Briggs was killed Sept. 21 when a vehicle struck the bicycle she was riding as part of her training for a Police Unity Tour ride in Kingston. She was 59.

“All-American John,” the younger of the two Davis brothers to attain the honor in the 1960s playing for Buzz Harvey’s highly successful football teams, died in early October.

Former state Representative Nancy J. Elliott of Merrimack, a fierce advocate for the vulnerable population, was 69 when she passed Oct. 20.

Dr. Harris A. Berman, a co-founder of the Matthew Thornton Health Plan in 1971 who became dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine, died at age 83 on Oct. 30.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Stephen W. Rogers, for 32 years the physical fitness director at the Nashua YMCA and a Revolutionary War historian and 1st N.H. Regiment re-enactor, passed Nov. 13 at 89.

For decades the owner of the landmark Dairy Whip on Amherst Street, Robert E. Belzil was 96 when he died Nov. 14. Science and computer whiz Hub Seward of Milford, whose experiments revoluationized various types of technology, died at age 81 on Nov. 15.

The Honorable Bernard A. Streeter Jr., the 54th mayor of Nashua who also served 15 terms ñ 30 years ñ on the Governor’s Executive Council representing District 5, passed Nov. 25 at age 86.

Youth baseball coach William “Bill” Twomey, whose passion for the game made him a fixture at diamonds in Nashua and across the region for decades, died at age 89 on Dec. 3.

Three-term state Representative Kenneth “Woodie” Spalding Jr. of Milford, a business, civic and political leader in Milford and Amherst, passed Dec. 18 at age 87.

Paul Racioppi, a “modern-day Renaissance man” and “truly a man of service” who co-owned, with his wife, Liz, the local Elizabeth Grady Skin Care Salon, was 70 when he died Dec. 20 after a brief illness.

Popular Milford resident and career nurse Lisa Deware was 53 when she died Dec. 30 in a tragic car crash in Amherst.

In conclusion, I paraphrase the late iconic Boston-based TV newsman Jack Chase: “So long, and make it a good year.”

Dean Shalhoup’s column appears weekly in The Sunday Telegraph. He may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.