Notable NH Deaths: Manchester Attorney Middleton, Raymond Firefighter Phillips, Yankee Magazine's Hale

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.

Albert John Carilli, 88, of Bartlett, died Sept. 4, 2026. His passion for climbing and the outdoors inspired generations of fellow adventurers and friends. He was a founding member of Connecticut Climbers and Mountaineers (CCM) and remained deeply connected to the climbing community throughout his life. (Furber & White Funeral Home)

Thomas J. Gatherum, 79, of Penacook, died Sept. 2, 2026. He was a commercial pilot and flight instructor and worked as a charter pilot and flight instructor at Ferns Flying Service at Concord Municipal Airport. He was a crew chief and air ambulance aidman with the N.H. Army National Guard as well as a paid on-call firefighter and dispatcher for Concord Fire Department. He was an Advanced EMT with Penacook Rescue Squad and an EMT instructor/coordinator for the state. He retired from his job managing litigation for Unitil Service Corp. in 2015. He was the Chairperson for the Appalachian Mountain Club’s New Hampshire Chapter Mountaineering Committee. He served on the Concord Planning Board, as president of the Penacook-Boscawen Little League, as a NHIAA-patched official for high school soccer and basketball, and as a volunteer for N.H. Fish & Game Hunter Safety programs. (Legacy.com)

Judson Drake Hale Sr., 93, of Dublin, the longtime editor of Yankee Magazine, died Aug. 28, 2026. He was a tank commander in the U.S. Army in the fifties, stationed in Germany. He joined Yankee Publishing Inc. in 1958 as an assistant editor and became associate editor, then managing editor, and in 1970 was named editor of Yankee magazine and The Old Farmer’s Almanac, whose history dates to 1792. In 2000, he became editor-in-chief of both publications and chairman of the board of directors. He was the author of “The Education of a Yankee,” published by HarperCollins in 1987. He appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and many other national programs. He was president of the Monadnock Community Hospital board of trustees and co-founder of Inherit New Hampshire, now known as the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance. He served on the board of the MacDowell Colony, the Sharon Arts Center, and the Dartmouth Club of Southwest New Hampshire, where he was named “President of the Year” in 1977. He also served as civil defense director for Dublin and was a volunteer firefighter with the Dublin Fire Department for more than 17 years. (Jellison Funeral Home)

Elizabeth A. Hawkins, 91, of Milan, died Sept. 9, 2026. She was Milan town clerk, a selectman and town treasurer and had also served as a selectman for the Town of Dummer. She was an insurance agent for the Ouellette Agency for more than 30 years and later for Vaillancourt & Woodward. (Bryant Funeral Home)

John Ernest Hemeon, 89, of Rumney, died Sept 2, 2026. He was a Navy Seabee who worked on construction of a base near the South Pole in Antarctica. He also helped construct Interstate 93. He was Rumney road agent for many years, volunteer firefighter and EMT in Rumney, servng as fire chief for many years. He was a general contractor. (Legacy.com)

David Joseph Landry, 77, of Sun City Center, Fla., and formerly of Laconia, died Sept. 2, 2026. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and N.H. Air National Guard. He served on the police departments in Tilton and Laconia for 32 years and after retiring for the N.H. Marine Patrol. (Smart Memorial Home)

The Rev. Father Leo Armand LeBlanc, 78, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and formerly of Plymouth, died Sept. 8, 2026. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Manchester in 1974. He served in several parishes throughout New Hampshire, most recently as pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Plymouth for 18 years until his retirement in 2022. He was involved in scouting and served as national chaplain for the National Catholic Committee on Scouting and World Chaplain for the International Catholic Conference of Scouting. (Davis Funeral Home)

Jack B. Middleton, 97, of Manchester, died, Sept. 8, 2026. His legal career spanned more than six decades as a trial lawyer, including 24 years as a N.H. District Court Judge. He was a founder and president of the McLane Middleton law firm, which published a tribute to him on their website. He served as president of the New Hampshire Bar Association and served as the state delegate and secretary to the American Bar Association. He was president of the Mount Washington Observatory as well as president of New Hampshire Public Television, the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way board of directors. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire. N.H. Gov. Kelly Ayotte said in online remarks, “To me, he was also a role model and mentor who knew that attorneys had to give good legal advice but also had to use good judgment. I am thankful for Jack’s impact on my career and for his decades of friendship.”

Eric Phillips, 44, of Raymond, was a firefighter who died in the line of duty Sept. 4, 2026. Raymond Fire Department officials say he suffered a medical emergency while on a call for service. He was a five-year veteran of the Raymond Fire Department, and colleagues described him as a committed and respected member of the department. Details about memorial services and arrangements will be released in the coming days in coordination with Phillips’ family. (InDepthNH.org)

Dan G. Stauffacher, 78, of Pembroke, died Aug. 30, 2026. He served as pastor of Burr Ridge United Church of Christ in Burr Ridge, Ill., and Geneva Congregational Church in Geneva, Ill. In 1995, he became pastor of the United Church of Christ in Pembroke for 10 years. He also founded and served as pastor of Faith Meeting House Church in Allenstown. (Roan Family Funeral Home)

Ruth (Spear) Wells, 107, of Boscawen, died Sept. 5, 2026. She lived at the Merrimack County Nursing Home for the past six years and was the nursing home’s oldest resident. She began her career as a kindergarten teacher in Derry in the 1940s, opening her own kindergarten, the “Ruth Wells Kindergarten” for 20 years, retiring in 1976, moving to Barefoot Bay, Fla. (Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium)

WORDS OF WISDOM: “Have the courage to build your life around what is really most important to you.” — Joshua Becker, American author who writes on minimalism and intentional living

This story was originally published by InDepth NH.