Ellen Elizabeth & Neal A. Jesseman

Ellen Elizabeth (Richards) Jesseman (91) passed away on August 27, 2024. Ellen was born and raised in Concord, New Hampshire.

As Ellen grew up and while going through school, she realized that she wanted to be able to help people. She graduated from Concord High School and enrolled in the nursing program at the New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Ellen graduated from nursing school in 1954 and began her nursing career at that same hospital.

Meanwhile, she and Neal Jesseman, also of Concord, New Hampshire, had been dating since high school and they continued to date despite living in different states. Neal would often drive to Boston to see Ellen on her days off. Neal served in the Army, partly overseas, but they kept in touch and after he completed his tour and returned home, he asked Ellen to marry him. They were married on March 21, 1959 in Concord. They made their home in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and raised three children.

Ellen volunteered at the Junior High School library and was a member of a bowling team for many years. She also worked in the medical field for over fifteen years as a podiatrist’s assistant, handling many patient and office duties. Ellen’s focus for many years was being available for her family and enabling the children’s extracurricular activities. Her New England family also remained very important and she, Neal, and the family would travel to New Hampshire and Maine numerous times each year.

When grandchildren arrived, Ellen thoroughly enjoyed babysitting, playing with them, going to their games and other special events, talking and laughing with them, and just enjoying their company.

Ellen will be remembered for her thoughtfulness and kindness, heart for others, and for her love for her family. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend.

Ellen is predeceased by her lifelong love – husband of 65 years – Neal; her parents Nellie (Simmons) and Garnett Richards; sisters, Edna (Richards) Burk and Eunice (Richards) Morrill; and brothers Garnett and Paris. She is survived by children Lisa (Jesse Armour), Linda (Thomas Musselman), and Scott (Caren Chiacchio); grandchildren Shane Armour, Claire Jesseman, Amy Musselman, Natalie Jesseman and Alexander Jesseman; and many nieces and nephews.

Neal A. Jesseman (90) passed away on January 20, 2024. Neal was born and raised in Concord, New Hampshire. Growing up, Neal was resourceful, selling greeting cards, raising and selling parakeets, and delivering newspapers on his bike route year-round. Bike riding was one of his favorite past times and he rode his bicycle most places including long rides to Manchester, New Hampshire, Mt. Kearsarge in northern New Hampshire, and to north central Vermont.

From an early age, he was interested in cars and auto mechanics and repair. As a teen, his father let Neal be the one to try out and advise on what car would be the best choice for their family. He enjoyed working on cars and for much of his life he took care of most repair work on his cars himself. Browsing around auto dealerships was an enjoyable past time for him, and he found that because of his mechanical background combined with much reading about cars, he was often more informed about specifications, road test results, and repair reports of different models than most of the salespeople were.

Neal graduated from Concord High School in 1951 then attended the University of New Hampshire, graduating with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering. Each summer between his college years, he worked for the State of New Hampshire doing road survey work.

He began working with Western Electric in June 1956 as a building construction engineer. In October 1956 he was called to serve in the US Army as part of the 30th Engineering Group located in San Francisco and then in the US Army Map Services Far East, located in Tokyo, Japan. He was discharged in October 1958 and returned to work at Western Electric’s Hopewell, New Jersey location as a Plant Engineer in Plant Design and Construction. The company was preparing to build a research facility that supported Western Electric’s manufacturing locations. As Plant Engineer, Neal was an integral part of many aspects of the construction of the facility and then over the years, was promoted to Senior Plant Engineer and responsible for maintaining and improving systems and processes. He retired from AT&T (formerly Western Electric) in December, 1989.

Neal enjoyed traveling and regularly took the family to New England on vacation, visiting family in Concord, New Hampshire and Portland, Maine. In 1978 Neal and Ellen bought a cottage in Friendship, Maine and that became the favorite place to spend time each summer. There, he enjoyed keeping busy with projects, being near or on the ocean, and the company of his sister’s family as well as others who visited. He and Ellen would drive to Colorado annually to visit daughter Lisa and her family. While there, they travelled to national parks and monuments in the region.

Neal very much enjoyed family get-togethers. He valued time with his family, children and then with his grandchildren, going to their various sporting activities, concerts, graduations, other special events, and just spending time with them over the years.

Neal is predeceased by his parents Clarence and Vera (Clark) Jesseman and sister, Carol Adams. His lifelong love – wife of 65 years – Ellen (Richards) passed away on August 27, 2024. He is survived by children Lisa (Jesse Armour), Linda (Thomas Musselman), and Scott (Caren Chiacchio); grandchildren Shane Armour, Claire Jesseman, Amy Musselman, Natalie Jesseman and Alexander Jesseman; sister Cynthia (Jim Godown); and many nieces and nephews.

A time of remembrance for Ellen & Neal will be held Saturday, September 14, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Bennett Funeral Home, 209 N Main St, Concord, NH. Followed by a burial at 12:15 PM at Blossom Hill Cemetery, 207 North State St., Concord, NH, which all are welcome to attend.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Ellen & Neal's memory may be made to Lawrence Township Emergency Medical Services, 165 Pilla Ave, Lawrence Township, New Jersey 08648.