Obituaries from The Rockingham News, Plaistow, New Hampshire, from August 17, 2001 http://www.seacoastonline.com Copyright retained by the newspaper. Permission received to include in the USGenWeb Archives. Jack W. Brown STRATHAM -- Jack William Brown, infant son of Kenneth W. and Lisa M. (Freedman) Brown of 38R Lovell Road, died Thursday, Aug. 9, 2001, in New England Medical Center, Boston. He was born June 23, 2001, in Portsmouth. In addition to his parents, he is survived by one brother, Nicholas Stadig of Stratham; two sisters, Alexandra Stadig and Emily Stadig, both of Stratham; his maternal grandparents, William and Mary Anne Freedman of Portland, Maine; his paternal grandmother, Venita Brown of Raymond; his maternal great-grandmother, Pat Freedman of Augusta, Maine; one aunt, two uncles and three cousins. Private services will be held at the convenience of the family. Memorial donations may be made to New England Medical Center Neo Natal ICU, c/o Development, 750 Washington St., Boston, MA 02111. Arrangements are by the Remick & Gendron Funeral Home-Crematory, Hampton. Grace Dagdigian KINGSTON -- Grace Dagdigian, 87, of 140 Main St., died July 29, 2001, in Exeter Hospital after a sudden illness. She was born Feb. 1, 1914, in Chicago, the daughter of Kaspar and Hrasheg (Antreassian) Dagdigian and resided most of her life in Belmont, Mass., moving to Kingston 12 years ago. Miss Dagdigian was a stamp buyer for the H.E. Harris Company of Boston retiring when she was 70. She attended the First Armenian Church of Belmont, Mass. She is survived by two nieces, Judith Oljey of Kingston, with whom she made her home, and Joan M. Creonte of Brockton, Mass.; and several grand nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by one sister, Dorothy Boujicanian. Memorial services will be held Monday at 7 p.m. in the Church of the Plains, Main St., Kingston, with the Rev. Wendall Irvine officiating. A reception will follow the service at Papa's Place Restaurant, Kingston. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Kingston Volunteer Fireman's Association, P.O. Box 301, Kingston, NH, The Kingston Community House, P.O. Box 625, Kingston NH 03848 or the First Armenian Church, 380 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478. Arrangements are by the Brewitt Funeral Home, Exeter. Walter L. Durant HAMPTON -- Walter L. Durant, 70, of 221 Drakeside Road, died Sunday, Aug. 12, 2001, in Exeter Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was born April 1, 1931, in Hampton, the son of the late Clinton H. and Lena (Hamel) Durant, and was a lifelong resident of Hampton. He was educated in Hampton schools and was a U.S. Army veteran serving stateside during the Korean Conflict. Mr. Durant was a machine set up and layout operator for AT&T, now Lucent Technologies, in No. Andover, Mass, retiring in 1989 after 33 years of service. He was a member of St. James Lodge No. 102, F&AM; the Telephone Pioneers of America; and the American Legion Post No. 150 of Newburyport, Mass. He enjoyed hunting, gardening and his family. He raised sulky horses that he enjoyed racing. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Nancy (Howe) Durant; four children, Michael W. Durant of St. Paul, Minn., Patricia A. Wasson of Hampton, Laurie J. Vail of Raymond and Larry J. Durant of Manchester; seven grandchildren; one great-grandson; four brothers, Hollis Durant of Stratham, Richard Durant of Cucamonga, Calif., Arthur "Jim" Durant of Hampton and Robert Durant of Hampton Falls; six sisters, Ethel Small of Seabrook, Gertrude Brown of Stratham, Grace Brown of Kensington, Martha Janvrin of Glen, Mildred Cote of Dover and Bessie Chase of Amesbury, Mass.; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by one brother, Russell Durant. Funeral services were held Thursday in the Remick & Gendron Funeral Home, Hampton. Burial was in High Street Cemetery, Hampton. Hurley McCann RAYMOND -- Hurley "Frank" McCann, 54, of Main Street, died Friday, Aug. 10, 2001, in Exeter Hospital after a brief illness. He was born Aug. 29, 1946, in Lawrence, Mass., the son of the late Francis J. and Tryphena J. (Funderburk) McCann and had resided in Raymond for 15 years. He was a 1966 graduate of Lawrence High School. Mr. McCann was a supervisor at Car Component Technology in Bedford for five years. He was an avid fisherman. He is survived by two daughters, Margaret McCann of Lawrence and Ryanne McCann of Manchester; two brothers, Richard McCann of Methuen, Mass., and Ronald McCann of Salem; his godmother, Barbara Mathers of Tewksbury, Mass.; his close companion, Joanne Fortier of Raymond; and several nieces and nephews. Memorial services will be announced at a later date. Arrangements are by the Brewitt Funeral Home, Raymond. Wadleigh W. Woods PORTSMOUTH -- Wadleigh W. Woods, 96, of 198 Thaxter Road, died Thursday, Aug. 9, 2001, at his home. He was born Sept. 30, 1904, in Portsmouth, the son of Walter and Mary Woods. He was a 1922 graduate of Portsmouth High School, a 1926 graduate of Dartmouth College and received his master's degree from the University of New Hampshire. Mr. Woods was a teacher and coach in independent schools in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts for 45 years. He served in the Military Welfare Service of the American Red Cross for three years during World War II. He was a member of Middle Street Baptist Church, Portsmouth; St. John's Masonic Lodge No. 56, F&AM of Portsmouth since 1927; Portsmouth Rotary Club since 1977, where he received the Paul Harris Fellow Award; and served on the board of directors of the Chase Home for Children from 1985 until 1995. Mr. Wadleigh was the tennis instructor at Wentworth-by-the-Sea in New Castle for 34 summers. He played in many senior tennis tournaments throughout the eastern United States. He was ranked number one in his age bracket in both singles and doubles in New England several times. From 1977 until 1994 he was involved in volunteer work for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. He received a commendation award for volunteerism in New Hampshire from President Reagan in the Rose Garden at the White House in 1985. The widower of Nadine (Tarbell) Woods, his wife of 67 years who died in 1998, he is survived by one daughter, Diane Woods of Durham; and a foster granddaughter. Cindy L. Smith of Durham. Graveside services were held Tuesday in Newington Cemetery, Newington, followed by a memorial services in Middle Street Baptist Church, Portsmouth. Memorial donations may be made to Middle Street Baptist Church, 18 Court St., Portsmouth, NH 03801 or to the N.H. SPCA, P.O. Box 196, Stratham, NH 03885-0196. Arrangements were by the J. Verne Wood Funeral Home-Buckminster Chapel, Portsmouth.