Celia A. Pearson

She was born in Bennington, Vt., on Feb. 14, 1955, and raised in White Creek, N.Y., the youngest of six children to Charles and Kathleen (Flynn) Niles. She graduated from Hoosick Falls Central High School in 1973 and went on to study nursing at SUNY Binghamton and Ellis Hospital School of Nursing in Schenectady, N.Y.

After graduating and obtaining a license as a registered nurse, she married Paul S. Pearson of Greenfield, Mass., on July 16, 1977, and moved to Keene to work at Cheshire Medical Center.

Celia worked in many departments at Cheshire Medical Center throughout her 42-year career in nursing. Most notably, she was clinical leader of the recovery room in the post anesthesia care unit for many years, and she finished her career in the education, training, and development department. She retired in January 2019.

While working full time and raising her family, she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2003 from Excelsior College.

Celia loved to travel, visiting many National Parks with family throughout the years, as well as many trips to Maine or Cape Cod in the summer. Immediately after retirement, she took a well-deserved vacation to Florida. In June of 2019, she traveled abroad to England and in December 2019 she traveled to Germany and Austria. After that, the COVID-19 pandemic made travel difficult, but by 2022 she was able to plan another trip, this time to Ireland.

During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Celia felt the need to help and volunteered with the COVID-19 Alliance Senior Support Team of N.H. helping nursing homes limit COVID-19’s impact on the health of staff and residents. She also administered vaccines at the Krif Road site in Keene as a volunteer with Healthy Monadnock Alliance.

Not wanting to be idle during retirement, she also volunteered at the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Keene where she served those in need and met many new friends.

Celia loved animals, both wild and domesticated, including several pet cats and a dog. She spent many good years with her yellow lab Champ before adopting two cats from Monadnock Kitty Rescue: Cy and Max. After Cy and Max passed on, she took in a mackerel tabby cat with no home. She named the cat Bob, choosing the name after referring to him as the "baby bobcat" she saw multiple times outside. She brought Bob to the Monadnock Humane Society and after medical treatment, he was officially adopted by Celia and family.

Celia had a kind heart; when she found an injured bat in the church, she took it upon herself to gather it up in a box and take it to a wildlife rehabilitator. She also loved seeing birds and butterflies or any other wild animal she happened to come across while spending time outdoors.

She enjoyed hiking and biking in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. She also loved reading during retirement, taking out many novels from the Keene Public Library and finishing them with regularity. But above all she loved spending time with her family.

She is survived by her husband, Paul, her two sons, Dennis and Kevin, and her cat, Bob, all of Keene; her brothers and sisters, C. David Niles and wife, Patricia, of Chatham, N.Y., Rose Marie Sheffer and husband, Andrew, of Albany, N.Y., Richard Niles and wife, Marcia, of The Villages, Fla., Raymond Niles and wife, Deborah, of Rockbridge Baths, Va., and Anita Perry and husband, James, of Eagle Bridge, N.Y.; as well as many nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Sept. 16 at 11 a.m. at the St. Bernard Catholic Church on Main Street in Keene followed by a gathering at St. Bernard’s Hall where food will be provided.

In lieu of flowers, please donate in Celia's honor to Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, 312 Marlboro St., Keene (https://www.hcsservices.org/donate/); the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation (https://cjdfoundation.org/); or a charity of your choice.