HOLDERNESS----Jack Saunders passed away peacefully at home in the company of family, on August 14, 2020, at the age of 97.
He was born in NY, NY, on November 15, 1922, the son of Joseph and Ethel (Redler) Shabman. Jack attended Brooklyn Technical High School, where he majored in Engineering and worked at Ford Instrument Company on Long Island. He served in World War II in both the Merchant Marine and the Navy. During the War, Jack served in the American Theatre, Asiatic Pacific, Mediterranean, Near East, and North Atlantic. After the War, Jack attended City College of New York and graduated in 1950. Then, he began to work at General Electric as an Engineer, and later in the Aircraft Engine Division. He worked in the design of jet and helicopter engines, including the CH-53, LM-1600, and the Infrared Suppression program.
After 36 years at GE, Jack retired to New Hampshire where he loved to hike and climb and was an outdoor sports enthusiast -- sailing, kayaking, skiing. He volunteered in the Forest Service and was a ski instructor at Waterville Valley and Tenney Mountain. He enjoyed scuba diving with Dive Winnipesaukee and took diving trips with that group. Jack traveled widely and climbed mountains around the world -- Canada, Europe, Mexico, Nepal, South America, and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. As a sports car enthusiast, Jack joined the North Country Region of the Porsche Club of America and enjoyed races and autocross events for many years.
Jack's many interests, enthusiasm, and encouragement inspired his family. He is survived by his wife Olivia Saunders, his son Lawrence Saunders and wife Toby of Toronto, Canada, his grandchildren Jennifer Saunders Kerbel and husband Josh, Mark Saunders and wife Tammy, and great-grandchildren Dylan, Shayla, Jude, and Joey, Jack's brother, Ben Shabman, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, son George Saunders, sister Anne Atkins Rein, and his first wife, Barbara.
Graveside burial at New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, NH, was held on Monday, August 17, 2020. Rabbi Dan Danson of Temple B'nai Israel in Laconia offered a Graveside Service.
Memorials may be made to the Southern Poverty Law Center, https://donate.splcenter.org/ or to Pemi Baker Home Health and Hospice, 101 Boulder Point Drive, Suite 3, Plymouth, NH 03264.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH 03246, is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com.
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