Margaretta Mellen

Margaretta Mellen, 89, a retired bookkeeper, died peacefully Saturday, October 19, 2013 at Good Shepherd Nursing Facility in Jaffrey.

She was the loving wife of Donald A. Mellen for 52 years. Don preceded her in death in 1999 after a long illness. Together, Don and Margaretta enjoyed outdoor activities with family and friends. Known affectionately by Don as the “mountain goat”, they enjoyed camping and hiking in the White Mountains and both celebrated the accomplishment of the Appalachian Mountain Club “4000 Footer Award” after climbing all 4000 foot mountains in New Hampshire.

Margaretta was born in Framingham, MA. She was the only child of Frederick H. Thomson and Elizabeth Hodge. One of Margaretta’s favorite stories of her youth was sailing to Scotland with her Grandmother and roller-skating on the wooden deck of the Queen Mary. She was baptized and a member of the Federated Church of Ashland, MA. She married Don in 1947 after he returned from serving in World War II.

Margaretta’s working life in the banking industry as an expert bookkeeper extended well into her retirement as she enjoyed solving unique problems like finding missing checks and deposits to the wrong account. She spent many years working for the Framingham Trust Company where she had many friends.

Margaretta and Don moved to Cape Cod where they built their retirement home. She continued to work part-time for the Cape Cod 5 bank. She enjoyed bowling, square dancing, gardening, and long walks on the beach with her rescued Greyhounds. Later on, she came to New Hampshire to live with her daughter, Margaret Critser of Rindge.

Margaretta is survived by her daughter Margaret and son, Donald A Mellen, Jr of Bartlett, TN. She has two surviving grandchildren; Corporal Chris Mellen serving in the U.S. Marines and Jessie (Mellen) Pine and her husband Airman First Class Kevin (Chris) Pine who is serving in the U.S. Air Force. A third grandchild, Shawn Mellen, preceded her in death. Margaretta also has a great-granddaughter Lily Pine who is learning to walk and perhaps eventually to climb mountains.

According to Margaretta’s wishes, her burial will be private and she will be buried next to her husband at Wildwood Cemetery in Ashland, MA. She and Don will be together again with other members of the Mellen family. Final arrangements will be handled by the Cournoyer Funeral Home of Jaffrey, NH.

The family wishes to send a special thank you to the excellent team at Hospice at HCS of Keene, NH and the caring community at the Good Shepherd Nursing Facility of Jaffrey, NH. These special people made Margaretta’s final months peaceful and comfortable.