Notable New Hampshire Deaths: Hobblebush Books Publisher, State Street Discount Founder

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.

Sister Rosina Marie Bechard, FCSCJ (Sister Lucy Marie), 89, of Windham, died Aug. 3, 2025. She was a Daughter of the Charity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for 66 years. She was co-director of the Deanery Catechetical Center in Newport, Vt., and served as spiritual director at the Berakah Holy Cross Center in Pittsfield. She tutored students in South Africa and served as Provincial Superior for six years, and superior of local communities. (Ross Funeral Home)

Sidney Leavitt Hall Jr., 74, of Tuftonboro and formerly of Brookline, died July 29, 2025. He founded Hobblebush Books and Hobblebush Design in 1995 and ran a printing business called Stonehouse Press. He published a local conservation newsletter called Our Place and wrote columns and articles in local newspapers. His poetry was published in literary journals, and he authored four books of poetry and a memoir. Sid also edited a history of Brookline. (Baker-Gagne Funeral Homes)

Mark H. Horne, 71, of Plainfield, died Aug. 3, 2025. He was a volunteer firefighter for the Plainfield Volunteer Fire Department, earning his Firefighter I certification and achieving the rank of lieutenant before retiring. He founded and operated Professional Moving Services and Plainfield Heated Storage. He also owned River’s Edge Stables and One Clean Place, a laundromat and car wash. In 2016, he launched Door To Door Driving Services, LLC. (Ricker Funeral Home)

Stillman “Butch” Kealey Jr., 83, of Salem, died July 30, 2025. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he was a member of the family that owned Kealey Farms supermarket and founded Butch’s Electrical Service. He was also Salem’s building inspector. (Carrier Family Funeral Home)

George H. King, 97, of Peterborough and formerly of Hollis, died July 23, 2025. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, reaching the rank of Petty Officer, First Class. He and his wife Louise were members of Nashua Actorsingers, Nashua Theater Guild, and the Nashua Symphony and Choral Society. He was president of the Nashua Symphony and once played the typewriter in Leroy Anderson’s composition “The Typewriter.” He was a member of the Hollis Town Band and Hollis volunteer fire department. After retirement, he taught in the RISE program at Rivier University. He had worked at Sanders Associates in Nashua. (Jellison Funeral Home)

Irene “Renee” Levy, 92, of Rye, died July 29, 2025. She and her husband Robert Lincoln Levy founded State Street Discount, which began in a small storefront on State Street and grew to a large store on Lafayette Road. (J. Verne Wood Funeral Home – Buckminster Chapel)

Leon “Bud” Meader Jr., 84, of Rochester, died Aug. 1, 2025. He was once a milkman and fireman who started several businesses, including Budel Construction Corp., Meader Supply Corp., and Meader’s Heritage Farm and their Granite State Belgians. He served on several boards including the North American Horse Council, Rochester Economic Development Commission, Rochester Fair Association, N.H. State Foresters Licensing Board, N.H. State Agricultural Advisory Board, Frisbie Memorial Hospital, Pierce Pond Watershed Trust and for 35 years at Profile Bank in Rochester. (R.M. Edgerly & Son Funeral Home)

James Andrew Progin, 86, of Hanover, died Aug. 1, 2025. An avid skier, he traversed slopes around the world and skied in championship races locally and for Dartmouth College, where he was on the ski team and was president of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. The DKE house was the basis for the movie “Animal House.” He was an auditor for Arthur Andersen & Co. in Boston. He enlisted in the Coast Guard reserves and later worked for real estate developer Spaulding & Slye, where he became chief financial officer and a general partner. He was president of the Mount Washington Valley Habitat for Humanity in the 1990s. (Knight Funeral Home of White River Junction, Vt.)

Kent Monroe Royce, 90, of Jaffrey, died Aug. 1, 2025. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was a member of the Jaffrey Historical Society and served as chair of membership, treasurer, and president. He also served on the Jaffrey Conservation Committee, Budget Committee, and was an alternate member of the Planning Board. He worked in sales at Troy Mills Inc., retiring as office manager in 1998 after working there 33 years. (Cournoyer Funeral Home & Cremation Center)

WORDS OF WISDOM: “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come without leaving happier.” — Mother Teresa, Aug. 26, 1910, to Sept. 5, 1997, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Missionaries of Charity in India

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