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 Cecilia Coefield, 99, of Manchester, a Sister of Mercy for 81 years, died March 27, 2025. She was a teacher and administrator in schools in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and California. In New Hampshire she taught at Sacred Heart and St. Christopher’s schools in Nashua; St. Joseph School in Keene; St. Mary in Franklin; and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Blessed Sacrament, St. Raphael, St. Patrick, St. Joseph and St. Augustine schools in Manchester. She was principal at McDonald School and St. Joseph Junior High School in Manchester and was vice principal at Trinity High School in Manchester. She served as activities coordinator at the Warde Health Center in Windham and as activity director at the Carpenter Center for Catholic Charities from 1980 until her retirement in 2004. (Carrier Family Funeral Home)

Michael Ray Christiansen, 71, of Keene, died March 26, 2025. He was a regional vice president for  Peerless Insurance Company and in 2000 was named president and CEO of Peerless Insurance. When Peerless was acquired by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., he was named regional president for business insurance. He was regional president for Northeast Division of The Hanover Insurance Group.
He served on the boards of the Monadnock United Way and the Colonial Performing Arts Center. (Cheshire Family Funeral Home)

Frederick Thomas Dehner, 83, of Nashua, diedMarch 29, 2025. He was a retired major in the U.S. Air Force and served at Wright Patterson in Dayton, Ohio, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, and Fort Belvoir Army Base in Virginia.  He volunteered in New Hampshire with the U.S. First Robotics Program and was an adjunct professor at Rivier College, Southern New Hampshire University, and community colleges in Nashua and Manchester. He was a teacher in the RISE program teaching business and math courses to senior citizens. (Legacy.com)

Thomas C. Dunnington Jr., 83, of Dover, died March 24, 2025. He joined the Peace Corps after graduating from UNH in 1964, serving three years in Nigeria building roads and bridges. He built his law practice around family law and prosecuting for the towns of Durham, Lee, and Somersworth. His career as an attorney spanned more than 50 years. At age 65, he returned to Africa and summited Mount Kilimanjaro. He organized local running groups and completed 15 marathons. He served on the Dover City Council for two terms, one as mayor pro tem. He served on the Mayor’s Task Force on Drug Abuse, the Wentworth Home, the Dover Children’s Home, and the Cocheco Valley Humane Society. He was named Citizen of the Year in 2007. He brought Ben Franklin to life every July 4th when reading the Declaration of Independence on the steps of Dover’s City Hall. He acted with the Garrison Players, and the main theater is  dedicated to Tom and his wife Barbara. (Wiggin Purdy Funeral Home)

David L. Johnson, 69, of Milton, died April 1, 2025. He taught in Newmarket, then was sixth-grade teacher in Milton. During his 34 year tenure, he served as an interim principal for Milton Elementary School, assistant principal of Nute Middle School, and taught math and science to Grades 6, 7, and 8. He also coached multiple levels of volleyball, basketball and baseball. He was a cub scout master and town beach commissioner. He worked was a Marine Patrol officer in Milton and a police officer for Wakefield and Milton.  (Peaslee Funeral Home)

Lillian “Nikki” Liamos, 91, of Nashua and Milford, died March 28, 2025. She and her husband George owned Lussier’s Pharmacy in Nashua and Wilton during the late 1960s through the middle 1980s. Later, she worked for Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and then Lockheed Credit Union. (Legacy.com)

Rear Admiral Herbert R. Lippold Jr., NOAA, (Ret.), 98, of Atkinson, died March 31, 2025. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the end of World War II and spent two years in Germany searching for lost pilots and crew that went down during the war. He was recruited by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, which became the National Ocean Service, a branch of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and mapped oceans and coasts all over the globe. He served two years as commander and assistant chief of Geodesy in Washington, D.C., before being named captain of the 300-foot “Oceanographer” traveling the world. He was promoted to rear admiral and received a presidential appointment as director of the Pacific Marine Center in Seattle and later director of the National Ocean Service. (Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home)

Vincent Dominic  “Tootie”  Marinelli, 95, of Salem, died April 2, 2025. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He owned and operated United Uniform in Lawrence, Mass.  He was a member and past master of Pulpit Rock Lodge in Pelham, the Spickett Lodge in Salem, Valley of Nashua Scottish Rite, the York Rite of Manchester, the Bektash Shiners in Concord, the Amara Shriners of Palm Beach, Fla., the Order of the Eastern Star in Salem, the DAV in Salem, the Salem American Legion, the Sons of Italy and the Roxbury Red Raiders.   (Douglas & Johnson Funeral Home)

Marie Ann Noyes, 87, of Jefferson, died April 1, 2025. For 11 years, she was treasurer for the Town of Jefferson, and for 20 years she was a supervisor of the checklist. In 1952, she became a certified Sister of the Rebekah Assembly of the International Order of Odd Fellows of New Hampshire. She cooked at places like The Chester Lodge Cabins, Lewiston Maine Country Club, Arsenault Sub Shop, The Water Wheel, and most recently The Yokohama in Gorham. But she was most proud of owning The Pigs Whistle in Jefferson from 1972 to the mid-1980’s. (Bailey Funeral Home)

Thomas C. Ross, 83, Littleton, died March 28, 2025. He opened Ross Funeral Home in Littleton in 1967 and was a licensed funeral direcior and embalmer. He was a member of the N.H. Funeral Directors Association and served as president in 1979. He was a ski patroller at Cannon Mountain and an EMT, responding to emergencies in the Littleton area in his hearse.  In 1968, The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons invited him to participate in a pilot EMT course at Harvard University. He was instrumental in establishing the FAST Squad system in Northern New Hampshire and served on the Littleton Regional Hospital Board of Trustees and the NH EMS Coordinating Board.  He joined the Littleton Fire Department in 1964 and retired as chief in 1996.  He was a justice of peace and a Littleton area bail commissioner. (Ross Funeral Home)

Robert E. Sawyer Jr., 80, of Epsom, died March 30, 2025. He was an engineer at Northeast Electronics in Concord, where he helped invent a device to stop and catch phone hackers. He was director of international sales for Tau-tron in Westford, Mass. He was a volunteer firefighter with the Epsom Fire Department for more than 30 years and was a founding member of the Epsom Rescue Squad. He served on the town budget committee and coached Little League baseball. (Roan Family Funeral Home -Still Oaks Chapel)

WORDS OF WISDOM: “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” – Walter Hagen, American professional golfer who was known as the father of professional golf (Dec. 21, 1892, to Oct. 6, 1969)