Notable New Hampshire Deaths: Christmas Dove Founder; Concord Economic Development Rep

By InDepth NH

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.

Lawrence Joseph Alting, 80, of Laconia and formerly of Alton, died Sept. 10, 2025. In Alton, he was elected to the planning board and the school board, serving on the school board throughout the entire building process of Prospect Mountain High School. He owned his own construction business, Alting & Sons Construction. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)

William C. "Niel" Cannon II, 79, of Concord, died Sept. 12, 2025. He worked for the U.S. Economic Administration in Philadelphia, and after moving to Concord in 1976, he was economic development representative serving New Hampshire and Vermont. In 1991, he was appointed executive director for the Capital Regional Development Council. (Legacy.com)

John J. Carr, 65, of Brookline, died Sept. 11, 2025. He served with the Brockton Police Department for 22 years. He was a state representative for District 26 and a selectman for the town of Brookline. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Third Order of St. Dominic. (Rochette Funeral Home and Cremation Services)

Dr. Gail H. Devoid, 73, of Boscawen, died Sept. 15, 2025. She was a past president of the New London Rotary and a previous member of both the Hanover and Concord Rotary Clubs. She was chief financial officer most recently for Labsphere. She was a jewelry designer and was past president of the Bead Society of New Hampshire. (Legacy.com)

Samuel Brent Hartmann, 71, of Strafford, died Sept. 10, 2025. He was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant in 1977 and served as a budget officer for two years, then completed pilot training in 1980. He flew F-4E Phantom fighters with the 70th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Moody AFB, Ga., and with the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron in Taegu, Korea. He also flew the F117 Stealth Fighter as part of the 4450th Stealth Fighter Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev. He became a commercial pilot with United Parcel Service and was a federal flight deck officer, retiring in 2015 after 25 years. (Purdy Funeral Service)

Bradley E. Hosmer, 85, of Londonderry and formerly of Concord, died Sept. 15, 2025. He was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and was an engineer at Eastman Kodak. He was vice president of Branson Ultrasonics and AMF, Inc. In 1987, he founded Beta Consulting Group. He taught at the University of Connecticut, New Hampshire Technical Institute, and Colby-Sawyer College. He was a board member and president of the Concord Family YMCA, Community Bridges, and the Capital Regional Development Council. He was a member of Rotary International. (Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium)

Amy G. (Archambault) Lagasse, 47, of Londonderry, died September 9, 2025. She worked for the Timberlane Regional School District as a school counselor at the Pollard School in Plaistow. (Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home)

Patricia “Trish” E. Miller, 78, of Derry, died Sept. 12, 2025. She worked for the Londonderry School District, first as a high school media volunteer, then the paid district media coordinator. She was an integral part of the creation of Londonderry’s local television station, CTV-20. She was inducted into the Londonderry High School Hall of Fame in 1994. (Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium)

Linda Calef Svenson, 77, of Barrington, died Sept. 16, 2025. A former teacher, she and her husband moved to New Hampshire, and they renovated a former poultry barn in Barrington into the Christmas Dove in 1973. For the next 50 years, she was the creative force behind the Christmas Dove, growing it to nearly 16,000 square feet and opening satellite locations. (Tasker Funeral Service)

Richard Greville Verney, 79, of Bennington, died Sept. 10, 2025. He served in the Army National Guard from 1968 to 1974 and began his career at Monadnock Paper Mills, where he succeeded his father as CEO in 1978. He led the company’s expansion into emerging markets and product lines while championing environmental responsibility, technical excellence, and long-term reinvestment. In 1998, he established Monadnock Non-Wovens in Mt. Pocono, Pa. He was a trustee for St. George’s School in Newport, R.I., for 25 years, was chairman of the board from 1985 to 1989, and continued to support the school as an honorary trustee thereafter. He was a trustee of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and served for 20 years, including as president of the board from 1998 to 2008. He was a trustee of Monadnock Community Hospital from 1993 to 2000, serving as vice president for two years in the late '90s. He also served as a trustee of the Crotched Mountain Foundation from 1974 until his passing.UNH awarded him an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 2009. (Jellison Funeral Home)

Rev. James E. Waugh, 93, of West Ossipee, died Sept. 11, 2025. He was an American Baptist minister for 69 years starting in 1955 at the White Rock Free Baptist Church in Gorham, Maine, and retiring from the Water Village Community Church in Ossipee in 2024. He served churches throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Pennsylvania. He also served as chaplain for the Maine Legislature, Protestant Chaplin Ministry at Maine Medical Center and at the Men’s Correctional Center in Windham, Maine. (Lord Funeral Home)

WORDS OF WISDOM: “As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas, and colors enough to paint the beautiful things I see.” – Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch painter, March 30, 1853, to July 29, 1890.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.