John Edward Pearson
John Edward Pearson, 89, of Nashua, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, surrounded by his family.
Born April 23, 1933, in Boston, Massachusetts, he was the son of the late Harry Pearson and Helen (Galonek) Pearson and the husband of Ann Pearson, whom he married on Dec. 10, 1966. Their life together of 56 years was rich with love and adventure. They enjoyed traveling throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, Russia, the Baltic and all of Europe. Fun-filled cruises included taking his children and grandchildren with them, making lasting memories along the way. These trips are still talked about today. John loved to be around his family, both young and older, and he enjoyed mentoring them as they grew. Pool parties, holiday parties and birthday parties were all reasons for him to gather the family together.
John was a graduate of Needham High School, Needham, Massachusetts, and also attended Wentworth Institute in Boston. He knew at an early age what he wanted to do with his life. His father was a carpenter, and the construction bug hit him at an early age. His parents divorced when John was 11, and he became “man of the house” while he was still a young boy.
The summer when he was 17, he was helping a man build a house. With the house barely started, the gentleman was called up by the draft. He asked John if he thought he could finish building the house. John said “yes,” as it was a great opportunity. He successfully finished the job, and thus started his building career.
In 1968, John Pearson was voted Man of the Year by the Nashua Jaycees for distinguished community service. Throughout his career, he completed many government contracts as a general contractor, including rebuilding and gold leafing the dome structure of the New Hampshire State House and replacing the marble floors. He rebuilt the U.S. Navy Prison in Kittery, Maine, while it was occupied with 851 prisoners. He rehabbed housing for the U.S. Air Force, built barracks for the U.S. Marines and built a nuclear storage facility for the U.S. Navy.
As a developer and builder, he built thousands of single-family homes, condominiums and apartments throughout the Northeast. Well over 1,000 were built in Greater Nashua. John built Nashua’s first large apartment complex in 1969 called Regency Park on Thornton Road. Other projects include several hotels, office parks, retail and industrial developments and a 14-story high rise in Boston. He also had an office in Lagos, Nigeria.
Besides his wife, members of his family include eight sons, Eric Pearson and his wife, Lynda; Jay Pearson and his wife, Amy; and Gary Pearson all of Nashua; Kevin Pearson and Michele Fairbanks of Chichester, New Hampshire; John A. Pearson and his wife, Pat, of Merrimack, New Hampshire; Tim Pearson and his wife, Lisa, of Naples, Florida; David Pearson (predeceased) and his wife, Debbie, of Mashpee, Massachusetts; and Tom Pearson and his wife, Nancy, of Sanford, Maine. He will be sadly missed by his grandchildren, Brooke, Justin, Britney, Mia, Ava, Ella, Sophia, Lacey, MacKenzie, Craig, Saundra, Seth, TJ and Lauren.
Visiting hours will be on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, from 4-7 p.m. in the Dumont-Sullivan Funeral Home, 50 Ferry St., in Hudson. A service of remembrance will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, at 10 a.m. in the funeral home. All may meet at the funeral home starting at 9:30 a.m. Burial will be in Edgewood Cemetery in Nashua. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John’s loving memory to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua at www.bgcn.com or the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter at www.nsks.org. To share an online message of condolence, please visit www.dumontsullivan.com. The Dumont-Sullivan Funeral Home in Hudson is in charge of arrangements.