Manchester_ Helen P. Closson, a long time Manchester resident, passed away peacefully at her
residence on January 17, 2017.
She was born in 1922 in Berlin, NH, daughter of Joseph and Marie-Anne (Gagne) Pelletier. She was educated in Berlin schools and had advanced educational training which included: the Institute in Non-Profit Management at Harvard University, Grantsmanship at the Suffolk University Management Education Center, Administration and Program Planning at George Williams College and the National Youthworkers' Project at the University of Minnesota.
As Executive Director of the Girls' Club of Manchester, she served the youth of her community for over fourteen years. Even after she retired from this position she continued to support the club by fundraising and serving on the Board. Following her Girls' Club service, she worked as a Community Relations Consultant with the Elliot Hospital and as a part-time real estate agent. Her work and social calendar were always full!
Over many years, her volunteer and community service efforts were extensive. She served on the Board of Directors of Girls' Clubs of America ( Girls' Inc.), Board of New Hampshire Public Radio, Board of the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra Guild, Board of the Palace Theatre, Board of the Manchester Institute of Arts and Sciences (The New Hampshire Institute of Art), President of the Professional Association of Girls' Clubs of America, Board Chair of the N.H. Affiliate of the American Diabetes Association, President of Opera New England, President of The Opera League of New Hampshire, Board of the New Hampshire Performing Arts Center, Secretary of La Societe des Deux Mondes, Board of the Children's Alliance of New Hampshire, Member of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, Board of the New England Foundation for the Arts, President of the Franco American Center, Trustee Emerita of New England College, Board of the Vocational Partnership Foundation at the Manchester School of Technology, Member and Past Chair of the American-Canadian French Cultural Exchange Commission, Board of the Opera Company of Boston; and most recently, Board Chair for Hands Across the Merrimack, Inc., to which she was passionately committed and of which she was extremely proud. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and so thoroughly enjoyed her time with family. She was a loyal, dedicated and supportive friend who loved meeting with close friends for French Club and Dinner Club. She spent countless hours trying to make things better for her beloved community and state.
She was predeceased by her loving husband of 65 years, Raymond; and is survived by two sons, Steven Closson and his wife, Marilyn, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine; Brooks Closson of Manchester and his ex-wife, Jean of Raleigh, North Carolina; six grandchildren, Sarah and her husband Todd, Andrew and his wife Sara, Matthew Closson, James St. Cyr and his wife Claire, Emily Fee and her husband Michael and Chelsea VonCanon and her husband Josh; and seven great-grandchildren Ellie, Luke and Lila Gagne, Annabelle and Julia Closson and James and Ryan St. Cyr. The family would like to extend their heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the nursing staff at Birch Hill Terrace and the Manchester VNA hospice nursing staff for providing such a caring and comfortable end of life experience.
SERVICES: There are no calling hours. A mass of Christian burial was celebrated Thursday, February 9th at 11:00 a.m. in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Manchester.
Committal prayers will take place on Thursday, August 24, 2017 at 1 pm in NH Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Girls' Inc. J.N. Boufford & Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. For more information and online guest book, please visit www.bouffordfuneralhome.com.