Lower Gilmanton First Baptist Church
Route
107
Lower
Gilmanton, NH
Summer
Services
7:00 PM
August
5th – Pastor Linda Bolton with accompanist Pastor Henry Frost
August
19th – Pastor Chris Stevens and the Dump Run Gang with accompanist
Pastor Henry Frost
Please
feel free to bring your favorite dessert which will be shared during
fellowship time following the services, at which time you may meet
new acquaintances or reminisce with old friends. Hope to see
you at these Sunday evening services to keep this summer tradition
alive.
Obituaries
Nancy Louise Girard
GILMANTON, NH- Nancy Louise Girard; 60; passed away
gently on July 14, 2018 after a long battle against the ravages of
Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), surrounded by the comfort and prayers of
family and friends who stood in for the large cast of loving people
who supported her during the struggle. Born in Turners Falls, MA,
she was the youngest daughter of Joseph Alcide Girard and Elaine
George Girard. She is survived by her college sweetheart and husband
of 37 wonderful years, Garret Graaskamp, and children, Kelsey and
Cameron Graaskamp; brother, Richard and Janet Girard and their
children, Timothy, Jonathan and daughter-in-law Katherine; sister,
Susanne and Charlie Morgan and their children Amanda and Alexandra;
sister, Noreen and Edward Lemieux and son Seth; sisters-in-law,
Dorothy Graaskamp, Martha Testerman, her husband, Patrick, and their
children, Holly, Hana and David; father-in-law, John Graaskamp and
his wife, Vicky Lynn (Degerman); step-sister in law, Jill Davis King
and her husband Jonathan, and their children Benjamin and Nathaniel;
step-brother in law, Jack Davis and his wife, Dawn Villella and
their children Ana and Henry; sister-in-law, Kim Graaskamp. Nancy
was pre-deceased by her mother in law, Ann Virginia (McGregor)
Graaskamp and brother-in-law James McGregor Graaskamp.
Nancy
grew up along the rural banks of the Connecticut River within a
family heritage of self-sufficiency and concern for the well-being
of the environment and the human condition. Her upbringing instilled
a determination and purpose for a life’s work conserving and
protecting the natural environment for the benefit of generations
yet to come. She volunteered her time to the Town of Gilmanton for
23 years as a member of the Planning Board, 13 years as the Chair.
She did pro bono work in the NH Bar Association Domestic Violence
Emergency (DOVE) program for over 25 years to provide victims of
domestic violence with emergency legal services. By example, she
passed this legacy of service on to her children who are serving in
the fields of medical and mental health.
Nancy
was a lady of firsts. As an eighth grader in Gill, MA she inspired
and organized a town-wide trash pick-up and recycling effort to mark
the first anniversary of Earth Day. She was among the women in the
first full-four-year class at Amherst College after it went
coeducational in 1974, and where she co-founded the Sabrinas,
Amherst’s women’s acapella singing group, and graduated with honors.
She later earned a Juris Doctor degree and a Master of Arts degree
in International Studies from the University of Denver. She was a
member of the New Hampshire and New York State Bar Associations.
Nancy
was the first Legal Coordinator for the NH Fish & Game Department
and helped start the popular Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. She
founded the NH office of the Conservation Law Foundation, and was
its Director for almost a decade. While at CLF, she spearheaded many
collaborative efforts among communities and volunteers to facilitate
state-wide smart growth initiatives for high-speed rail corridors,
protection of the Great Bay Estuary from the impacts of regional
wastewater discharge, protection of NH’s forests from power plant
acid rain impacts, energy conservation and renewable energy
alternatives and climate change mitigation, wetland habitat
conservation, and protection of the Green and White Mountains
roadless areas. For three years she was a member of the National
Advisory Council for Environmental Policy / Technology Subcommittee
on Promoting Environmental Stewardship and was the Chair of the
Working Group on Innovation in Core EPA Programs.
Nancy
worked for the City of Boston in Mayor Menino’s administration as
the Commissioner of the Environment Department. In this role, she
planned and implemented protections for the City’s built and natural
environments and developed policies and programs on environmental
issues including climate action, historic sites, buildings,
landscapes, and waterways. One outcome on her watch was the
development of the 2014 Climate Action Plan Update, which
established a proactive neighborhood engagement program and
city-university partnership that reflected her belief in
collaboration as the foundation for permanent positive change.
Nancy
was on the Board of Directors for the Concord Food Co-op for ten
years; serving as President for seven years. During this time the
Co-op tripled in size on South Main Street, bought out the Kearsarge
Cooperative Grocer in New London, NH and grew to over 5,000 members.
Nancy’s
most important passion was for her family. She taught Kelsey and
Cameron through the example of her life to demonstrate respect for
one’s self but also for the opinions of others in order to create
trust and a mutual incentive to achieve compassionate compromises
and resilient outcomes that benefit the greater good of the
community.
She
loved to sing and was part of the summer New Hampshire Music
Festival Chorus for many years. Cameron inherited this passion and
Nancy went to all his plays and concerts at Gilford High School and
the University of NH. Nancy loved cheering for Kelsey as she played
soccer, basketball and softball in high school and college. Just
last week she enjoyed a final indoor soccer game in Bow, noisily
sounding her wheel chair buzzer after every goal.
On
summer evenings you could find her in the garden tending the
vegetables and harvesting raspberries for a family ice cream sundae
party; Maple Walnut was her favorite. She was a walking encyclopedia
on flowers and plants; learned as a Girl Scout from her Mom and
which made every hike a game to add a new flower to the list. Her
favorite hike was across Mount Mansfield in Vermont.
A
Celebration of Life Service will be held Saturday, August 18, at
11:00am followed by a reception at the Faith Community Bible Church
in Loudon, NH. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation
to the ALS Association Northern New England Chapter, 10 Ferry St,
Suite 438, Concord, NH 03301.
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