Recent Obituaries
New Ipswich Historical Society
Irene C. Albrecht (Niemi) and Betsy Thoms
I have been posting obituaries from the mid 1920s for the last couple of weeks. Yesterday I received an email from a reader asking me to remove his wife’s email address from the newsletter because she had died:
If your commendable Society also has interest, in modern sons and
daughters... Born Irene Niemi, text copy of her obituary is below.
Sincerely, Paul Albrecht (Irene's husband)
His email reminded me that history is a continuum and we are all part of that fabric. This is his wife’s obituary:
Irene C. Albrecht (Niemi) Obituary
Irene died in March, happy with her life's adventures, married for 54
years. She had fended off cancer, for 15 years. Over 23 years in Las
Vegas, she was a valued member and officer of several social clubs,
including as a club president.
She was a cheerleader captain in New Hampshire, where she also married,
in a (Catholic) double-wedding ceremony, just preceding her younger sister.
She graduated from college in Boston, and lived in Manhattan, doing
movie casting for Universal pictures. She lived in Hawaii, Dallas, and
was an elected public official in Belleair, Florida.
She made the best ice cream that some knowledgeable people had ever
tasted, and was the first person to make one of her infant grand nephews
laugh. She travelled worldwide, and her last Bridge tournament was back
in Hawaii.
Appreciating your own personal remembrances, Irene requested no memorial service nor donations.
"... the love you take ..."
Elizabeth "Betty" Lawrence Thoms Obituary
Betsy was a friend, a member of the Historical Society and a teacher of my children. I worked with her at the Children’s Fair in the Garden Shop for many years.
NH - Betsy Thoms died on March 15, 2024 at her Scott Farrar residence in Peterborough, NH. Born in Fitchburg, MA on January 8, 1931, she was the daughter of the late Richard Harris and Stella Cushing Lawrence. She met her future husband, William "Bill" Thoms, when he returned to Fitchburg High School from his WWII Naval service, marrying him in January 1949.
Betsy and Bill made their first home in North Leominster, and in 1958 moved to New Ipswich, NH where the growing Thoms family filled a large colonial home on Main Street.
She was the central manager of a household of nine people, yet she made time to return to college part-time at Fitchburg State University, earning her bachelor's and master's degrees and embarking on a 20 year elementary school teaching career. She read daily to her own children and worked to instill a love of reading in her students.
A strong proponent of community institutions, she was a Christian believer and a dedicated member of the New Ipswich Congregational Church. Betsy also served on the local school board and was active at the New Ipswich public library. Her energy and selfless hard work was a support to her husband, her children, grandchildren and the New Ipswich community. Betsy was also known for her uncanny ability to find four-leaf clovers, her artistic talent, her generous hospitality and her wholesome, delicious cooking.
After losing her husband Bill in 2003, Betsy continued to live in the family home until moving in the fall of 2016 to the Scott-Farrar senior residences in Peterborough.
She is survived by her seven children and their spouses, William Jr. and Sandra of Gloucester, MA, David and Shirley of Winter Park, FL, Alice and Thomas Welden of Hancock, NH, Ross and Sharyn of Nashua, NH, Elizabeth and Ralph Twombly of Exeter, NH, Mary and Michael Madden of Temple, NH, and Robert and Cherisse of Stamford, CT, seventeen grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren and a sister, Ellen Erickson of Milford, OH. Two brothers, Richard and Ivers Lawrence, predeceased her.
The family would like to express their deepest gratitude for the loving care Betsy received from the Scott Farrar staff and also Compassus Hospice services.
A memorial service will be held on April 6, 2024 at 11 AM at the New Ipswich Congregational Church. Interment at Central Cemetery to follow. Please consider making a donation in her name to either the Peterborough Food Pantry or the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Greenville NH.
James Roger diary entry
27th March 1913
Rain and thunder during the night and heavy showers all day; wind southwest. David choring around cleaning harness, horses, etc. I swept Hall, filled lamps for Grange tonight. Walter Thayer brought tax paper. Sewing Circle today. Papers full of disasters in Middle West States. 23 at Grange; closed at 10:30 p.m.
NOTE: The Great Flood of 1913 occurred between March 23 and March 26, after major rivers in the central and eastern United States flooded from runoff and several days of heavy rain. Related deaths and damage in the United States were widespread and extensive. Wikipedia
I am sorry to see about the passing of Irene. She was in the class of 1966 of Appleton Academy. My condolences to her brother Bill and sister Eva and all her family.
Thank you for posting my sister's obit. I read it first on this site. She had an interesting life. She met her husband Paul while in college. Paul was a computer science major at MIT and founded a marketing research company which did quite well. Unfortunately for us she was always far away. The last place was Las Vegas, before that the Roebling estate in Belleair Bluffs, Fla, before that a beautiful home in Honolulu, etc. I was happy when 2 years ago she came to Troy, NY to visit. She still looked good and was her beautiful self. I think she knew her time was limited. She went through many rounds of chemo keeping breast cancer at bay for 15 years. She never complained.