Obituaries

Obituaries 4.10.19

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Gene Allen Besaw

Gene Allen Besaw, 72, well known businessman of Derby, died on April 2, 2019, at the Jack Bryne Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. 

He was born on March 26, 1947, in Newport to Floyd and Idelle (Sanville) Besaw. 

He married Jeannine Geoffrey Brewster who survives him.  Gene graduated from Newport High School in 1966, and later from the Southern New Hampshire University Class of 1969, where he received his bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Gene had a love for trains, accounting, traveling, and spending time with his family and friends.

Gene, a certified public accountant, owned and operated Gene A. Besaw and Associates Accounting firm in Newport for twenty years.  He was very active in the community and involved in many organizations.  He was state president and exalted ruler for the Order of the Elks #2155 and held many positions within the club.  He was also a member of the Eagles Aeries Charter #4329, where he was their treasurer, auditor, secretary, and trustee.  He was an AICPA member, a Knights of Columbus member, a trustee for the Orleans-Essex VNA and Hospice, Inc., and a former member of the Newport Rotary Club.

Gene was also instrumental in establishing a 501c3 for the Global Child Fund and as a result a school was built in Cambodia.

He is survived by his wife, Jeannine Besaw, of Derby; by his children:  Rick Besaw and his partner, Marc Poutre, of Newport, Gene Besaw II and his wife, Lori, of Franklinton, North Carolina, Hope Bussiere and her husband, Paul, of Newport, Robert Brewster of Westfield, Rodney Brewster and his partner, Cindy Geoffrey, of North Troy, and Ronda Brewster of Newport; by his grandchildren:  Maeghen, Joseph, Layla, Wyatt, Max, Cody, Alexis, Diamond, Nathan and his wife, Jennifer, Branden, Ryan, Evan, Rodney Jr., Macy, and Casondra and her husband, Zach Nelson; by his great-grandchildren:  Weston, Hunter, Hudson, Grayson, Jaden, Andrew, and Benjamin; and by several nieces and nephews.

He is also survived by his siblings:  Ruth Carter of Newport, Wayne Besaw of Newport, and Sally Kelley and her husband, Donald, of Newport Center; by his in-laws:  Florence Coogan of New York, Leo and Evelyn Geoffrey of Newport, Claire and George Lavoie of Newport, Marcel and Darlene Geoffrey of Newport, and Lucy Laframboise of Derby Line.

He was predeceased by his parents; and his in-laws: Fred Carter, Wanda Besaw, Jack Coogan, Raymond and Shirlene Geoffrey, and Andre Geoffrey.

Friends may call from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, at the Curtis-Britch-Converse-Rushford and Bouffard Funeral Home at 4670 Darling Hill Road in Newport.  A celebration of his life will be held at a later date in the summer.

Should friends desire, contributions in his memory may be made to the Jack Byrne Center, by mail:  Office of Development, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, One Medical Center Drive, HB 7070, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03756 (make check payable to “Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health” and note “Jack Byrne Center” on the memo line,  by phone (603) 653-0759 or online at www.D-H.org/JackByrneCenter.com.

 Online condolences can be made at curtis-britch.com.

Carol Waller Youmans

Carol Waller Youmans of Annapolis, Maryland, and summer resident of Barton died on March 27, 2019, during surgery for kidney cancer.

She was born January 24, 1940, in Akron, Ohio, to Barton summer residents, Fletcher and Eleanor Waller both of whom predeceased her.  

Her family has deep roots in the Kingdom.  Her grandfather, Halle, and his three brothers were orphaned in Irasburg.  Two of the four became doctors, including Percy Templeton Waller, one of the two physicians in the area at the time.

Carol is survived by her son William Allen Dorsey and his wife, Lisa, of Port Republic, Maryland; by her daughter Alice Dorsey O’Donnell and her husband, Paul, of Severna Park, Maryland; and five grandchildren:  Rachel Skye and Taylor Dorsey and Emerson, Ray, and Aeven O’Donnell; one great-grandchild Riley Dorsey Booze; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and -nephews; and cousins including the Nelsons of May Pond; by her brother, Fletcher Charles Waller and his wife, Ann Jaynes, of Mercer Island, Washington; by her sister Adrien Waller Helm and her husband, Edward, of Barton and Athens, Georgia.

In Vermont, Carol was a founding organizer of Greater Barton Arts, a member of Northeast Kingdom Plein Air Painters, and a member of the Wednesday Poets.  She was a teacher of GBA’s free art classes and master painter at a “Paint Party” fund-raiser for the Barton library.  

In Annapolis, she was heavily involved in the community theater, Colonial Players, and the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation.  Her ashes will be interred in August 2019, in the Irasburg Cemetery with those of her parents and husband, John Jefferson Youmans.  

Because of her love of literature and the arts, it is requested that memorial gifts be given to Greater Barton Arts, P.O. Box 171 in Barton, for its early literacy and other arts initiatives.

Beverly R. (Kenneson) Sample

Beverly Ruth (Kenneson) Sample, 84, died on March 26, 2019, in Concord, New Hampshire, with her family at her side.

She was born on April 27, 1934, in Irasburg, to Ralph Skinner Kenneson and Dorothy May (Lampman) Kenneson.  She went to graded school in West Glover, and graduated from Barton Academy.  After high school she worked at Pinecrest Cottages and then Newport Hospital as a candy striper, then off to Connecticut to work at a silverware plant.  Returning to Vermont, she worked for many years for Burt and Irene Conley as a nurse’s aide at their rest home.  She also held numerous cleaning jobs for the elderly and was employed cleaning at the Barton Post Office.  She operated the switchboard at the Barton Fair, and worked at the dry cleaners in Barton.  If you ever got to see her do the Herman Munster’s dance it would have scarred you for life.

Beverly married Richard Harold Sample on October 9, 1955, in Orleans.  He predeceased her in 1973.  Beverly is survived by four children:  Gary Sample of Glover, Brian and his wife, Amber, of Concord, New Hampshire, Dennis and his wife, Norma, of Charleston, Susan Lee and her husband, Chris, of Chichester, New Hampshire; and by her grandchildren:  Benjamyn, Sarah, Savannah, Jamie, and Morgan; and great-grandchildren Piper and Camden.  She is also survived by her sisters:  Eleanor Bailey of Glover, and Corrine Bailey of Glover; her brother-in-law Cecil Sample and his wife, Alice, of Charlestown, New Hampshire; also numerous cousins and relatives in Canada and the Northeast.

Services will be held at 3 p.m. on April 20, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, in Concord, New Hampshire.  Spring interment will take place at the Westlook Cemetery in Glover.

Dennis Michael Mientka

Dennis Michael Mientka, 85, of Albany, died on April 2, 2019, surrounded by family.  

Dennis was born to Ellen and Bruce Mientka on May 20, 1933, in Springfield, Massachusetts.  As a young man, he was in the Air Force and served in the Korean War.

Dennis married his wife, Marilyn, on December 7, 1974.  They moved from New York City to Vermont in 1978.  After he left the service, he pursued a career in film acting.  He worked on several television series, including Naked City and The Nurses.  His Vermont work includes:  High Water, Ethan Frome, Where the Rivers Flow North, and A Stranger in the Kingdom.

He painted many homes and churches in this area.  He was the choirmaster at St. Paul’s Catholic church in Barton and later helped his friend, Father Nadeau, with the renovation of the Church.  Dennis enjoyed coaching baseball and softball, and loved watching his children play sports.

He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; and his children:  Mariah, Tarah, Matthew, Sara and her friend,Norman, Katie and her co-parent, Lionel, Meghan and her husband, Gregory, Bridget, and Anne and her partner, Arlo; as well as grandchildren:  Lindsey, Holly, Hannah, Daniel, Kylee, Courtney, Lilith, Saulius, Joseph, Calvin, and Bennett.

A graveside service will be held later this spring for family members.  In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Joshua House, 150 Creek Road, Irasburg, Vermont 05845 [email protected].

Bruce Jay Cook

Bruce Jay Cook, 68, of Albany, died on April 3, 2019, at the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative and Hospice Care in Lebanon, New Hampshire. surrounded by his family.

He was born on May 27, 1950, in Burlington to Artemas Cook and Imogene Fletcher.  On June 3, 1972, he married Sherry Camley who survives him.

Bruce worked as a truck driver and also installed cow mats for Black River Equipment.  He enjoyed 4-wheeling, hunting, fishing, and yard sales; he loved spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  He loved being on Facebook, and going to Hudson, Maine.

He is survived by his wife Sherry Cook; by his children:  Chandell Lemieux and her partner, Howard Damon, of Albany, and Tracey Shatney and her husband, Reginald, of Albany; by his grandchildren:  Kyle and his girlfriend, Kristi, Kara and her boyfriend, Dan, Kaitlyn and her boyfriend, Bryce, Stephanie, Michael and his girlfriend, Kayla, and Reginald; by his great-grandchildren:  Alexis, Sebastian, Aubree, and Addison.  He is also survived by his sisters:  Lynne Fletcher, Jane Stinson and her husband, Dennis, and Susan Boatwright; by his sister-in-law Wilma and her husband, John; by his brothers-in-law:  Donny, Larry, and Bernard and his wife, Sandra; well as several nieces, nephews, and cousins; and a very special friend Chelsea Maskell of Craftsbury, who he considered a granddaughter.

He was predeceased by his sister Dale Cook; his sister-in-law Pauline; as well as both of his parents and his in-laws.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on April 13, at the Albany United Methodist Church with Reverend Nathan Strong officiating with full military honors.  In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative Care and Hospice, 154 Hitchcock Loop Road, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03756.

Online condolences can be made at curtis-britch.com.

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