HOLDERNESS ---- Helen Frances Law McAlpine Hiam, age 90, died peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family in Holderness, New Hampshire, on Friday, July 10, 2026.
Born in Vancouver, Canada, the youngest child of Claude and Helen (Law) McAlpine, with older siblings (deceased), Elspeth Alley, Mary Dobbs and John McAlpine Sr. Helen attended Crofton House, University of British Columbia, Bryn Mawr College, and Simmons School of Social Work. She lived in Cambridge, MA, for 61 years before moving to New Hampshire.
Helen practiced social work for 45 years and was the co-founder and partner of Riverway Counseling Associates in Medford, Massachusetts. In addition to being an extraordinary cook, her interests included opera, reading, mushroom hunting, camping, hiking, kayaking and skiing. She maintained her love of Canada, visiting Vancouver regularly as well her cottage on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
Helen is survived by her husband of 67 years, Peter Hiam, and had four children, Prentice (deceased), Michael (wife Marina Livshits), Lael (husband Charles Chester) and Christopher, as well as six grandchildren, Hannah, Eliana and Daniel Hiam and Samuel, Caleb and Sophia Chester, and 24 nieces and nephews.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services / 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit wilkinsonbeane.com.