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Sumner Wallace worked as a shoe maker and held state office roles. He rests in Rochester Cemetery after living from 1856 to 1920. Beyond backing banks, railroads and power firms, he acted as a state lawmaker, Executive Council member, Republican National Committee delegate and presidential elector.

InDepthNH.org reviews New Hampshire funeral home sites weekly and picks at random some of our friends, relatives and neighbors for this feature. The individuals noted here passed during prior weeks and held public or charitable links to their areas. InDepthNH.org now provides obituaries via the Legacy.com service. We see this as part of our community duty. Click the Obituaries tab at the top of our home page to learn more. If you know of a New Hampshire resident who merits inclusion here, send ideas to NancyWestNews@gmail.com.

Raymond E. Bailey Sr., 89, from Bristol, passed July 4, 2026. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he entered the New Hampshire State Police in 1963. He soon led the central New Hampshire patrol. He spent several years in the State Police Canine Unit prior to retiring in 1983. After retirement, he cared for property in Bridgewater for over 25 years. (McHugh Funeral Home)

Carla Anne (Hallin) Bickford, 85, from Alton, passed July 9, 2026. She trained in physical therapy and served at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro. She advanced to head the therapies department, then chaired the department at Frisbie Memorial Hospital for many years until retirement. She supported All Saints Church in Wolfeboro on the Altar Guild, the Vestry and other roles, such as leading the book section of the church summer fair. (Peaslee Funeral Home and Cremation Services)

Edward L. Costa Jr., 74, from Milford, passed July 14, 2026. He served in the Army National Guard and held corporate posts at Digital Equipment Corp., Compaq and Hewlett-Packard. He took part in a ministry for the incarcerated via Kairos Prison Ministry, offering spiritual support at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord for over 25 years. He was ordained in 2018 and served as chaplain at New Hampshire State Hospital and later St. Joseph Hospital. (Smith and Heald Funeral Home)

Kenneth Thomas Tom Decoster, 85, from Stratham, passed July 12, 2026. A U.S. Navy veteran, he worked as a jet aircraft mechanic for 14 years. He then became a financial planner in 1983 and gained Certified Financial Planner status in 1986. He belonged to the International Association of Financial Planners, the N.H. Estate Planning Council and the N.H. Employee Benefits Council. At age 71 he authored Creating the Good Life A Practical Guide to Personal and Financial Happiness, a self-help volume. He led both the New Hampshire Wildlife Federation and Trout Unlimited. (Jellison Funeral Home)

Robert J. Desrochers, 82, from Bedford, passed July 9, 2026. A U.S. Navy veteran, he volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America for 53 years. He most recently served as troop committeeman for Troop 135 in Manchester. He also held roles with the Catholic War Veterans for over 25 years and helped establish the Catholic War Veterans Memorial Monument at the New Hampshire State Veterans cemetery in Boscawen. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion Henry J. Sweeney Post 2 in Manchester and a longtime member of the Lions International and Pinardville Lions Club. He worked at Wonder Bread, Cott Beverages and Anheuser-Busch. (J.N. Boufford and Sons Funeral Home)

Dr. David R. Eiler, 63, from Hanover, passed June 28, 2026. He began in financial engineering at The MathWorks, then worked at BankBoston Global Capital Markets and Entergy-Koch Trading in Houston. He shifted careers and earned his M.D. degree. He joined the psychiatry department at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, directing both the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Service and the IN-Esketamine Service. (Rand-Wilson Funeral Home)

Sikt Grote, 81, from Nashua, passed July 1, 2026. She was a master electrician and ran her own electrical services firm. She completed computer networking courses and earned her MBA in finance at UNH, then served as chief financial officer for several nonprofit groups. She played the violin, multiple guitars, keyboards and the banjo. She sat on the board of the Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover for many years. (Advantage Funeral and Cremation Services)

William G. Hasbrouck, 90, from Gilsum, passed July 12, 2026. He ran a plumbing and heating firm, Hasbrouck Associates, until retiring in 2000. He also owned and operated Hasbrouck Apartments in Rindge. He served as a Gilsum selectman and spent many years on the budget committee for the Monadnock School District. (Cheshire Family Funeral Home)

Dudley Laufman, 95, from Canterbury, passed July 13, 2026. He was a key musician and caller deeply involved in contra and folk dance scenes across the Northeast. He received National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow status and called his first contra dance in New Hampshire in 1948. He formed his own ensemble, Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra, and toured the Northeast performing and teaching these traditional dances, including at Canterbury Shaker Village. In the 1970s the orchestra produced several recordings, and he averaged 300 or more bookings yearly. He performed and led workshops with his partner Jacqueline as the duo Two Fiddles. (Canterbury Shaker Village)

The Rev. Barbara L. Palmer, 69, from Bethlehem, passed July 14, 2026. She and her family relocated to Bethlehem in 1991 to launch a new church, and she established a Christian school for grades K-12 in 1998. She and her husband Steven served together in ordained ministry for the past 40 years. She co-pastored the church and led the school for 28 years. (Ross Funeral Home)

Paulina Polly (Hackett) Robinson, 86, from Amherst, passed July 10, 2026. She taught fourth and fifth grades in the Amherst School District for over 30 years. She also directed the Periwinkle Club, a summer youth program run by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Woods Hole, Mass. She served as president of her local AEA Teachers Union. (Legacy.com)

Judith Lea (Clifford) Williams, 71, from Gilmanton, passed July 12, 2026. She worked with the Northfield Police Department and the Tilton/Northfield Fire and Rescue, where she became the first female firefighter/EMT. She rose to lieutenant and earned EMT-II certification. She later spent 24 years at the Gilmanton School, retiring in 2021. She also maintained Crystal Lake Park in Gilmanton. She volunteered with the Gilmanton PTA and the Gilmanton Youth Organization. She coached youth baseball and basketball and later headed coaching for 7th and 8th grade girls basketball. (Smart Memorial Home)

WORDS OF WISDOM: Summer afternoon summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. Henry James, American-British author, April 15, 1843, to Feb. 28, 1916