Cynthia Kelley Herman passed away peacefully at her home in Chester, NH on October 28th, 2023, at the age of 75. Cynthia was born October 18, 1948 in Portland, Maine to parents, John and Helena Kelley. Cynthia was raised in Madbury, NH. She lived in Chester, NH from 1979 until October 28, 2023.
She attended Oyster River High school in Durham, NH. Cynthia graduated magna cum laude from the University of NH, Durham in 1976. In 1995, she went on to obtain a Master of Science degree in Management from Antioch College. Cynthia began her career in teaching and transitioned to social work in Salem, NH. Later, she served as a Community Organizer with Child and Family Services in Manchester, NH. While working as a Community Organizer, Cynthia worked passionately and tirelessly with The New Hampshire Community Action Partnership (NHCAP), a collaboration of 5 Community Action Agencies based in NH, to liaison with numerous New Hampshire State legislators to coordinate legislation beneficial for the children and families of New Hampshire. Cynthia retired from Child and Family Services in 2016 and continued to support the NHCAP organization. Cynthia was instrumental in advocating for increased pay and benefits for homecare service personnel. She received recognition from groups such as the NHCAP for lobbying on their behalf.
Cynthia enjoyed playing the hammered dulcimer, attending dulcimer festivals, vacationing in the NH Mountains region, and reading books about the history of the NH White Mountains. Cynthia was an excellent chef and enjoyed spending time preparing meals and desserts with her son Fletcher.
Cynthia will be deeply missed by her family, friends and neighbors. Cynthia is survived by her husband of 47 years, C.J. Herman, her sons, Fletcher Evans, and Todd Herman and his wife Brenda Herman, Cynthia’s sisters; Gail Kelley Merton and her husband Andrew Merton, Janet Wall, and Janice Kelley, and her brother, William Kelley, her grandsons; Andrew, William, and Benjamin Herman, and her sister-in-law, Cynthia Ann Herman.
Per her wishes, the family will be having a private funeral for Cynthia with no viewing. In lieu of flowers, family and friends are encouraged to make donations to either the Manchester food bank at [nhfoodbank.org] or to the Chocorua Lake Conservancy (CLC) at [www.chocorualake.org].