Cournoyer Funeral Home

Norma S. Whitney, 90, of Dublin, NH, passed away peacefully on Monday, May 2, 2022, at the Jaffrey Rehabilitation Center. She was born on November 1, 1931, in Peterborough, NH, the daughter of the late Joseph and Minnie Sangermano. Norma grew up in Peterborough, NH and is a 1949 graduate of the former Peterborough High School. After graduation, Norma married David K. Whitney on May 27, 1950. Together they raised their four children: Deborah, Rebeccah, Steven, and David. She loved being a homemaker and even extended some of her skills to the community with ironing for others. Norma was baptized at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Peterborough, NH. She remained a member of the church and...

Brenda Lee Dunton of Jaffrey, NH, passed away on April 22, 2022, in her home. She was born on June 13, 1960, in Peterborough, NH, the daughter of Leonard and Priscilla Burgoyne Casey. Brenda grew up in Rindge, NH and is a 1979 graduate of Conant High School. After graduation, Brenda married George Fredrick Dunton lll. Together they raised their two children, Shauna, and Christopher. She had a strong sense of pride when it came to her family. Brenda had an unwavering love for children, they brought her such joy. You could often find her shopping for the children in her life or taking them to enjoy a Swamp Bats game. She will be remembered for her thoughtfulness, with acts of kindness...

Travis (Allen) Shattuck died peacefully at her home on April 14, 2022, after a brief illness. The daughter of William and Beryl Allen, Travis was born on October 10, 1941. Travis grew up in Rindge NH (Little Michigan). The oldest of 5 children she had many fond childhood memories of growing up on the lake with her siblings, Grammie Fitzie, and close friends. A 1959 graduate of Conant High School, she attended the University of New Hampshire for one year and then transferred to Keene State College to complete her BS in Education in 1963. The reason for the transfer was her marriage to Daniel C. Shattuck, Jr on July 16, 1960. Travis and Dan resided in Jaffrey while she completed her...

Alfred J. Desmarais, 84, of Jaffrey, died peacefully at the Catholic Medical Center in Manchester on Monday, March 28, 2022, after a period of failing health. Alfred was born on June 7, 1937 in Peterborough, NH, son of the late William and Marie (Robitaille) Desmarais, and was a 1955 graduate of Conant High School in Jaffrey. Alfred served with the Army National Guard and later with the US Army. After his honorable discharge he returned to his hometown of Jaffrey, where he married Marjorie (Shields) Desmarais on September 20, 1958. Alfred first worked for several years at Belletete's in Jaffrey before becoming a printer and press operator for the Peterborough Transcript newspaper, where...

Paula C. (Couillard) Smith, 73, of Rindge, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 26, 2022, after a period of declining health. Paula was born on January 3, 1949, in Chelsea, MA, the daughter of Paul and Pauline Couillard. Paula and her siblings grew up in Portsmouth, NH, Lincoln, NE, and eventually Danvers, MA. She is a 1967 graduate of Danvers High School in Danvers, MA. After high school she attended Salem State University earning a bachelor's degree in French in 1971. She later attended Fitchburg State University in Fitchburg, MA, earning a master's degree in English Education in 1976. She and Robert F. Smith married on July 7, 1985, in Rindge, NH. Together they...

Paula C. (Couillard) Smith, 73, of Rindge, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 26, 2022, after a period of declining health. Paula was born on January 3, 1949, in Chelsea, MA, the daughter of Paul and Pauline Couillard. Paula and her siblings grew up in Portsmouth, NH, Lincoln, NE, and eventually Danvers, MA. She is a 1967 graduate of Danvers High School in Danvers, MA. After high school she attended Salem State University earning a bachelor's degree in French in 1971. She later attended Fitchburg State University in Fitchburg, MA, earning a master's degree in English Education in 1976. She and Robert F. Smith married on July 7, 1985, in Rindge, NH. Together they...

William C. Preston, 83, of Rindge, NH died peacefully on March 23, 2022, at the Cheshire Medical Center in Keene after a brief period of declining health. 'Bill' was born on February 11, 1939, in Portsmouth, NH, son of the late William and Margaret (Rising) Preston. He was raised in Newton, MA and had attended Bowdoin College and UMass Amherst, where he met and married Shirley DiBenedetto. In 1963, the couple moved to Ann Arbor, MI while he earned his Doctorate Degree in Ornithology from the University of Michigan. They moved to New Hampshire in 1968, residing in Peterborough, Jaffrey, and Rindge over the next 51 years. During this time, Bill taught as a Biology Professor at Franklin...

Beryl Cleveland-Taylor passed away peacefully on March 23, 2022, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was 85 years old. Beryl was born in Winchendon, MA on December 6, 1936, to Walter A Cleveland and Mary D. (Burt) Cleveland of Rindge, NH. She was the youngest of 4 children and lived all her young life in West Rindge. She attended Conant High School, where she shared her love for singing as a member of the chorus. She had many friends at Conant and was known for her wonderful sense of humor and quick wit. She graduated in 1954. After high school, Beryl took a job at Robert Taylor Candies in West Rindge. While employed, she met the love of her life Robert "Bobby" Taylor. They...

The family of Theresa Marie Wechsler (McDonough) of Jaffrey, NH is saddened to announce her passing on February 28, 2022 at the age of 68. Terri was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Growing up in an Air Force family, she lived in several states and Newfoundland. Two years after graduation from high school, she began her career in 1972 as a dental assistant in Clinton, Oklahoma. After relocating to her home state of Massachusetts in 1978, Terri resumed her career in Pepperell, working at two dental practices until 1988. Terri and her family moved to the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire in 1985. She began working for Central New England Endodontics in Keene in 1988 where she...

Alice R. Cole, 75, of Rindge, NH died February 20, 2022, in NH after a long illness. Born in Somerville, MA, February 19, 1947, daughter of Joseph and Mildred Berutis. In addition to her parents, Alice was also predeceased by her two sisters, Joan Berutis and Janice Cooper. Alice is survived by her husband of 52 years, Earl W. Cole, Jr. and her extended family. SERVICES: Calling hours on Saturday, February 26, 2022, from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at the Cournoyer Funeral Home, 33 River Street, (US Rte. 202) Jaffrey, NH 03452. Please see her complete obituary at www.cournoyerfh.com

Reverend Emily B. Preston, age 82, died on February 12, 2022 at the Monadnock Community Hospital. She was born in New York City, but was raised and educated in Boston, Massachusetts. The second of four daughters of Elwyn and Alberta Preston, her sisters always knew her as the "nostalgic" one, with a great sense of humor and playfulness, a lover of animals, and determined to leave the world a better place than she found it. She was educated in the Winsor School in Boston, St. Timothy's School in Baltimore, Boston University and Andover Newton Theological School (M. Div & STM). She was ordained into the United Church of Christ in 1965 and spent the next 52 years serving the Church. She...

George William Dishong, 88, formerly of Jaffrey, passed peacefully on February 8, 2022 at Scott-Farrar Assisted Living in Peterborough after a brief battle with vascular disease and a broken heart. Born on February 22, 1933, to Edna Mae (Light) and John William Dishong, he was the second of four children. George grew up on 9 Brick Row in Rexmont, PA where he attended school in Cornwall. At the tender age of 17 he went into the US Navy. After discharge from the Navy, he entered college at Penn State. He worked summers at Bethlehem Steel underground in the iron ore mines to help pay for his college. He met his sweet Eva (it's been told their courtship involved dancing). George and Eva were...

Catherine Marie (Kizer) Fannon, 55, of Jaffrey, NH passed away peacefully at home on February 6, 2022, surrounded by her family after a brief battle with cancer. She was born on July 9, 1966, in Derry NH, to parents James and Charlotte (Wood) Kizer. She was raised in Derry and attended high school at Pinkerton Academy. She met her husband William while he was working for her father, and they were married on November 19, 1988. Together they had three children, Jessica, William, and Justin. Catherine was a very proud mom. She stayed at home to raise her children, and, later in life, her grandchildren. She taught them many important life lessons, the most important of which was the value...

Jane Ann (Philips) Meneghini, born July 24, 1938 died peacefully surrounded by her sons and in the arms of her loving husband at about 6:45pm on February 1, 2022. She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Frank A. Meneghini, her four sons, John, Tom, Paul, and Marc, 12 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, a brother Tom and sister Carolyn and several nieces and nephews. She is pre-deceased by her parents and one grandchild. A thoughtful and intelligent woman, Jane's desire to improve the world can be seen in her commitment to family, her political activism, her love for flowers and gardening, and her passion for literature and poetry. After raising her four sons Jane obtained her...

Betty Jane Cederholm Balentine passed away peacefully at the United Methodist Homes Wesley Village Campus in Pittston, PA on January 27, 2022, at the age of 94. She was born on August 23, 1927, in Windsor, CT to John and Elsa (Johnson) Cederholm. Betts grew up in Worcester, MA and summered in Jaffrey, NH. She graduated from North High School in Worcester, MA in 1945. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bates College in 1949 before earning a master's degree in chemistry from Mount Holyoke College in 1951. Betts married James (Jim) Warren Balentine, also a Bates College graduate, on June 16, 1951. They moved to Jaffrey in 1960 with their children John and Jean after living in...

Mary Virginia (Deschenes) Tupper died peacefully surrounded by loving family members on January 23, 2022, in Yarmouth, ME, her home for the last ten years. Virginia (Jinny) was born in Nashua, NH on May 16, 1929, as the daughter of Joseph A. and Mary Jane (Jackson) Deschenes. Raised in East Jaffrey, NH, she attended Regis College and graduated from the University of New Hampshire. She met and married Ansel Norton Tupper at UNH in 1950. The couple first resided in Waterville, Maine, eventually settling in South Portland, Maine. In this friendly and fostering community, they raised their family of six children. Jinny is survived by six adult children and their spouses, all very much...

James Alwin Thomas, 80, died peacefully after a long and debilitating illness at the River Woods Continuing Care Residential Community in Exeter, NH on January 22, 2022. James or "Jim," as he was always known, was born in Chester PA, the only child of R. Glen and Genevieve Thomas. As a young boy, Jim evinced what would be his longtime consuming interest in science and mathematics and "how things worked." In his college years at the University of Delaware and later at Washington University, he broadened his interests to include "the big questions," and ultimately graduated with a PhD in Philosophy for his work on the mathematical origins of symbolic logic. After college, Jim moved with...

Susan D. Clark, 64, of Rindge, NH died peacefully, after a 15-year struggle with breast cancer, on January 20, 2022, in her home while surrounded by family. She was born on May 18, 1957, in Camden, NJ to Roland and Florence (Kelly) Collins. Susan grew up in New Jersey, Florida and North Carolina. She was a 1974 graduate of Lely High School in Naples, FL. After attending various colleges in New Jersey and Pennsylvania she eventually completed her goal of becoming a Registered Nurse by attending New Hampshire Vocational Technical School in Claremont, earning an AS in Nursing in 1988. She worked as a Registered Nurse at Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, NH, then as a Visiting Nurse...

Elizabeth Ann Commerford of Boston, MA died on January 19, 2022, in her home. She was born on October 18, 1939, in Burlington, VT to William Alphonsus and Margueritte Yvonne (Bournival) Commerford. She spent her childhood in Manchester, N.H, and was a 1958 graduate of Ecole Sainte George High School for Girls. After high school, Elizabeth attended Smith College earning a bachelor's degree. She also attended Simmons College for Social Work and graduated in 1968. Elizabeth is preceded in death by her parents, William and Marguerite (Bournival) Commerford, sister-in-law Kathleen (Herlihy) Commerford, and nephew Timothy Commerford. She is survived by...

Jeremy Roland Blouin, 29, Beloved Father, Son, Brother, Friend. Passed away on January 07, 2022, of an accidental overdose. Even though he had been in recovery for the last 6 months, Jeremy still fought the demons of his addiction. We are at peace knowing he is no longer fighting those demons and is now at peace. Jeremy was born on April 29, 1992, in Peterborough, NH to Tamara (Sibley) Stewart and Glenn Blouin. Jeremy lived life on the edge and to the absolute fullest. He was always doing something to get a laugh or make someone laugh. To be teased by Jeremy was to be loved by him. Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad and he was that special...

Merwyn Elizabeth McTague, 84, of Peterborough, NH passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, at the Pheasant Wood Rehabilitation Center in Peterborough, NH. She was born to the late Kenneth and Novella Murray in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada on August 31, 1937. She grew up in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada until she moved to the United States. Merwyn eventually became a Naturalized US citizen and had voted very proudly ever since. She had attended high school at the Prince Arthur School and graduated in 1957. Following high school, Merwyn attended college at Holy Rosary Commercial, and the New Hampshire Technical Institute, obtaining associates degrees in...