Jeanne B. French

LANCASTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Mrs. Jeanne B. French, 82, of First Street in Lancaster, New Hampshire, passed away early Wednesday morning, November 29, 2006, at the Weeks Medical Center in Lancaster after a courageous battle with cancer. Mrs. French was born in Colebrook, NH, on December 2, 1923, the first child of Stewart Young and Hilda (Brown) Young. Mrs. French graduated from Pittsburg High School where she excelled at and developed a life-long love of basketball, making the varsity team in the 8th grade. In 1943, she married Bertram French. In addition to being a wife and mother, she had a few jobs at different times, but will be remembered best as a dedicated volunteer at the Country Village Healthcare Center in Lancaster where she gave nearly 25,000 hours of service. Even when the fruit was too ripe at the center, Mrs. French would take it home and bake individual mini-fruit breads for each of the residents to have the next day. In recognition of her volunteer work, Mrs. French was presented with the New Hampshire Governor’s Award for Volunteerism. Mrs. French’s other hobbies included her daily walk of 4 to 5 miles, playing bingo and scratch tickets, ice skating, and she was proud that she never drank, smoke, or drove a car. She was a Sunday School teacher at the Methodist Church in Lancaster, and she was a devoted Celtics fan. She truly loved to play basketball with her grandchildren well into her 70s. She will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend to many. Mrs. French leaves behind two daughters, Charlotte Underwood and husband, Robert, of Farmington, ME, and Mary Lou McConnell, and husband, Peter, of Scarborough, ME; one brother, Arnold Young, and wife, Lou, of Pittsburg, NH; two sisters, Vanessa Merrill and husband, Gerald “Pat,” of Pittsburg, NH, and Nancy Covell, of Eliot, ME; four grandchildren, Dana Underwood, and wife, Melissa, of Wilton, ME, Lisa Bird and husband, Frank, of Gorham, ME, Julie Land, and husband, Timothy, of South Portland, ME, and Carie Anne Gay, and husband, Daniel, of Dayton, ME; six great-grandchildren, Tristan, Aiden, and Caitlin Underwood of Wilton, ME, Noah and Jonah Bird of Gorham, ME, and Cameron Land of South Portland, ME, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Mrs. French was anxiously awaiting the arrival of great-granchild number seven, Lilah Gay, within a week’s time of her passing. Mrs. French is preceded in death by her parents; her loving husband, Bertram French in 1994; one sister, Geraldine Merrill of Manchester, NH; and a grandson, Robert Carlton Underwood. At Mrs. French’s request, there will be no calling hours. Services will be held at a later date at the convenience of the family. Expressions of sympathy in Mrs. French’s memory may be made to the Country Village Center Residents’ Recreation Fund, c/o Annie Brooks, P.O. Box 441, Lancaster, NH 03584; or the Salvation Army, 121 Cedar Street, Manchester, NH 03101; or to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, NH Chapter, 27 Harvey Road, Bedford, NH 03110. Condolences may be offered to the family on-line by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home, Colebrook, NH.

Jeanne B. French

December 2, 1923 - November 29, 2006