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Bruce N. Ela Sr.
PORTLAND, Maine - Bruce N. Ela Sr., 56, of Deering Avenue in Portland, Maine, died Oct. 17, 2000, at Maine Medical Center following a brief illness.
He was born in Portland, Maine, the son of Gordon E. and Althea Brown Ela, and attended schools in Fryeburg and Hartford, Conn. He worked for his father learning the welding trade, and later owned and operated a tractor-trailer, delivering freight across the country.
He lived and worked in the Conway and Fryeburg areas for many years before moving to Florida, where he worked in sales for an orange juice manufacturer.
Returning to Maine, he worked as a bartender at the Commercial Street Pub in Portland, and was a self-employed welder, working on various commercial fishing vessels on Portland's waterfront.
He enjoyed riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which he had entirely rebuilt.
Surviving are his wife, Catherine Ela of Portland; four sons, Bruce N. Jr. of Conway, Danny of Portland, Christopher of Standish and Jamie of Biddeford; two daughters, Kim Kenny of Westbrook and Evette Smith of Connecticut; a brother, Danny; two sisters, Diane Richardson of Fryeburg and Becky Pelletier of Conway; and 11 grandchildren.
Visiting hours and funeral were held at Hay and Peabody Funeral Home in Portland last weekend with Rev. Philip Shearman officiating. Burial was at Brooklawn Memorial Park.
Chester N. Thompson
NORTH BERWICK, Maine - Chester N. Thompson, 95, of Elm Street, formerly of Wells and Sanford, died October 25, 2000, at Varney Crossing Nursing Home.
He was born on December 10, 1905 in Porter, the son of Louis L. and Lucindy J. Cummings Thompson.
He was educated in Porter schools. He worked for 15 years at Leon Hersome Logging of Parsonfield and for 10 years at Eastern Plastic of Sanford. He retired in 1970.
Mr. Thompson attended Advent Christian Church of Kennebunkport. He enjoyed his flower and vegetable gardens, hunting and building three-wheel motor bikes with lawn mover motors.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Evelyn M. Sprague Thompson of North Berwick; one daughter, Verne L. Leach of Wells; one son, Clifton F. Thompson of Center Conway; seven grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren; one great-great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
There are no visiting hours. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday at Neal and York Funeral Home in Kezar Falls. A burial will follow at Stanley Burial Grounds in South Hiram.
Raymond B. VanTassel
EFFINGHAM - Raymond B. VanTassel, 73, of Mill Road in Effingham, died Oct. 20, 2000, at his home.
He was born July 7, 1927, in Winchester, Mass., the son of the late Raymond S. VanTassel Sr. and Eleanor (Whitmore) VanTassel. He had lived in Effingham for the past 30 years. He had been employed by the State of New Hampshire as a title abstractor for many years. He was recognized by the State of New Hampshire and Gov. Jeanne Shaheen for his tireless efforts and dedication.
Mr. VanTassel also served on the Effingham Planning Board for 28 years. He was a member of the Effingham Historical Society and a member of the Coffee Club in Effingham.
He is survived by his son, Raymond B. VanTassel II, of Effingham; a grandson, Dean VanTassel, of Effingham; and a sister, Joyce VanTassel, also of Effingham.
There will be no calling hours. Memorial services will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at the South Effingham Church on Route 153 in South Effingham.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Town of Effingham for construction of the community center.
Lord Funeral Home on Moultonville Road in Center Ossipee is in charge of arrangements.
Betty Jean Robinson
Betty Jean Robinson, of Ashland, Mass., died Sept. 27, 2000, at Metro West Hospital in Framingham, Mass.
She was born in Tamworth, the daughter of the late Harry and Evelyn (Ward) Robinson.
She graduated from Kennett High School in Conway and was a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, class of 1957, with a degree in occupational therapy.
She began her career at the Robert Breck Brigham Hospital in Boston, Mass., where she was promoted to department head, a position she held for 15 years. After that she was association with Brigham's and Women in Boston until her retirement in 1996.
She enjoyed traveling, and she traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East.
She is survived by two brothers, Henry Robinson, of Tamworth, and Theodore Smalley, of Mesa, Ariz.; and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Chocorua Church.
Gordon Raymond Hemeon
CONWAY - Gordon Raymond Hemeon, 79, of Saco Street in Conway, died Friday, Oct. 20, 2000, at the Lake Regional General Hospital in Laconia.
He was born in Linwood, Mass., the son of Byron and Carrie Stanley, and graduated from Everett High School. He was a World War II disabled Army veteran, serving as a first lieutenant infantry unit commander. He was awarded two silver stars for gallantry in action, two bronze stars, the combat infantry medal and was personally awarded by President/General Charles DeGaulle the French Croix de Guerre medal. Six years ago he received the same award from Belgium.
On his return to Massachusetts, he was the most decorated veteran for that state.
He went on to graduate from Capitol Region Engineering Institute in Washington D.C. He worked 22 years for GTE in the Boston area and later for Automated Data Processing, retiring as regional sales manager for the Northeast United States.
He lived in Boxford, Mass., and was a member of the Disabled American Veterans.
He owned a summer home on Conway Lake for many years and enjoyed it very much. He had lived in Conway full time for eight years.
He is survived by his wife Kathy Parsons Hemeon, of Center Conway; three sons, James Hemeon, of Newport New, Va., Keith Hemeon, of Center Conway, and Darrel Hemeon, of Boston; one daughter, Roberta Jarvis, of Bristol, R.I.; one brother, William Hemeon, of Cummaquid, Mass.; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Visiting hours will be today (Monday) from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Wood Funeral Home, 12 Warren Street, Fryeburg. A funeral service will be held Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Woodlawn Cemetery Chapel, 302 Elm Street, Everett, Mass.
Donations may be made to the Brad Hemeon Memorial Fund, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, Dennis, Mass. 02638, or to the Central Kidney Center, Laconia, NH 03246.
Arnold J. Grover
FREEDOM - Arnold J. Grover, 90, of Babcock Road in Freedom and Portsmouth, died Oct. 20, 2000, at his home on Ossipee Lake.
He was born Feb. 3, 1910 in Portsmouth, the son of the late Ernest J. and Louise (Wood) Grover. He lived in Portsmouth for many years, where he graduated from local high schools and later attended Graceland College. Mr. Grover worked as a service foreman with the New England Telephone Company for over 40 years. He also served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II and retired from the Army reserves as a lieutenant colonel.
He was a member and past president of the Portsmouth Historical Society and 50-year member and past master of the St. Andrews Lodge F&AM in Portsmouth. He was also a member of the Carroll Lodge, F&AM, Freedom. Mr. Grover was also a member of the New England Telephone Pioneers.
He is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Ruth (Morisette) Grover, of Freedom and Portsmouth; two daughters, Judith Garbardina, of Manchester, and Carol Grover, of Arlington, Mass.; a granddaughter, Nancy Grant of Hampton; and a brother, Ernest T. Grover, of Hoquian, Wash.
There will be no calling hours. Funeral services will be today (Monday) at 11 a.m. at the Lord Funeral Home, 50 Moultonville Road, Center Ossipee. Burial will be in the Lakeview Cemetery, Freedom.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Hospice of Southern Carroll County, P.O. Box 1620, Wolfeboro, NH 03894, or the Medstar Ambulance Service.
Crystal M. Ridley
NORTH CONWAY - Crystal M. Ridley, 18, of North Conway, died October 18, 2000 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon following a sudden illness. Born in Hanover, she was a lifelong resident of North Conway.
Crystal was a graduate of ROTC. She earned several pins while she was a member. She truly loved dressing the part and enjoyed the camaraderie very much. She was also the team leader for the child advocate group that she participated in.
She had a great love for animals, and because of her gentle nature, the animals also loved her. She was aspiring to be a veterinarian or a child psychologist. Those professions will definitely be at a loss without her.
Crystal had many extended parts of her family, and they feel very fortunate to have been able to know her for such a short time. Everyone that met her knew they had been touched by an angel.
Crystal, our love, we no longer see his footsteps in the sand, and we understand why! She was lovingly referred to by her mother as "sweet pea."
The family includes her mother, Annette L. Johnson of North Conway; a brother, Charles W. Wing IV of North Conway; her maternal grandparents, Aaron and Elaine Johnson of Brownfield, Maine and several aunts and uncles including, Bernadette Greenwood of Effingham, Aaron Johnson, Jr., Sewall Johnson of Conway and Todd Johnson of Fryeburg.
She was predeceased by her uncle, Edward P. Johnson, in 1997.
Funeral services will be held Monday, October 23 at 1 p.m. at the Glen Community Baptist Church in Glen, with the Rev. William R. Stockhaus, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the Snowville Cemetery. Visiting hours will be Sunday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Furber and White Funeral Home in North Conway.
Donations may be made to Wal-Mart of North Conway to help the family with expenses.
Alice Cummings Hofler
MADISON - Alice Cummings Hofler, 78, of Madison and Plant City, Fla., died at her home in Madison after a long illness.
She was born in Manchester on March 19,1922, the daughter of Pete and Laura (Lefebvre) Grenier, and had lived most of her life in Manchester. She was a graduate of St. George High School.
She enjoyed skiing, traveling, crossword puzzles and most of all, golf. She held memberships at Manchester Country Club, North Conway County Club, Walden Lakes Country Club and Cove Bay Country Club. She had a hole-in-one at the Cove Bay Country Club.
She was past president of the N.H. Women's Golf Association.
She was the widow of William J. Leahy, who died in 1950, and of John W. Cummings, who died in 1989.
Members of her family include her husband, William Hofler of Plant City, Fla.; three sons, Timothy Leahy of Monroe, Thomas Leahy of Yarmouth, Maine, and Jack Cummings of Deerfield; nine grandchildren; one sister, Georgette Hecker of Goffstown; two brothers, Leo Grenier of Delevan, Wis., and Roger Grenier of Harrison, Mich.; and several nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by one son, Daniel Leahy, who died in Vietnam.
Calling hours will be Monday, Oct. 23, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the J.N. Boufford & Sons Funeral Home, 110 Bridge Street, Manchester. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Monday at 11 a.m. in St. George Church, Manchester. Burial will be in Mt. Calvant Cemetery, Manchester.
Memorial services in Plant City, Fla. will be held at a later date.
Memorial donations may be made to the H. Lee Moffit Cancer Center and Research Foundation, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, Fla. 33612.
Paulien C. Hayden
CONWAY - Paulien C. Hayden, 93, died after a short illness.
She was born in Bridgton, Maine, the daughter of John and Olive T. (Hilton) Batchalder. She moved to Conway in 1942, and worked for the Heel Mill and Yield House for many years before retiring.
She is survived by her son, Charles Pelletier of Conway; her daughter, and son-in-law, Gertrude and Robert DeVos of Conway; three granddaughters, Diane Richardson of Fryeburg, Rebecca Pelletier of Conway and Lisa Parent of Conway; and three great grandchildren, Denny and Eric Richardson of Fryeburg and Crystal Parent of Conway.
At her request, there will be no services. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to the Conway Village Ambulance and Rescue Service.
