Pamela Culp LaFond

Pam’s journey started in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was born on October 12, 1941, to Helen and Ormond Culp. Her family moved to Rochester and the Mayo Clinic, and Pam grew up in her spiritual home, Minnesota. But Pam never stayed put.

She graduated from Northwestern University, where she made many life-long friends.

She walked, hiked, and traveled far and wide. With her father, she saw the Dakota plains and Broadway lights. She visited Rwanda, Italy, France, Germany, England, Scotland, Norway and Turkey. She climbed down the Grand Canyon and up the peaks of Colorado. And for the past twenty-seven years, she roamed the trails and roads of New Hampshire, usually with a springer spaniel trotting beside her.

Pam admired the world’s beauty with an artist’s eye. She shot and printed photos of mischievous family dogs, birds in the backyard, loons on a northern lake, mountains in Alaska, ancient churches, young children, and flowers in her garden.

She made and enjoyed music. Pam rang bells for years in the South Congregational Church hand bell choir. She played the flute. She loved musicals and plays, from “Othello” at the Guthrie to “Harold and the Purple Crayon” at the Children’s Theater. She listened to an eclectic sampling of musicians, from John Denver to Dvorak.

Pam cultivated a beautiful garden. She grew sprawling rhubarb shrubs, squash, tomatoes, and countless flowers. The flowers attracted bees and butterflies, and feeders brought hummingbirds that zipped around her garden. But she reserved a special love for roses, which she planted in every color, carefully tucked away in the fall, and welcomed again in the spring.

On whatever road or trail in life, Pam greeted everyone. You couldn’t mistake or miss her voice, and she always had a story, opinion, lesson, or bit of wisdom and encouragement to share.

She opened her heart and home to an extended, adopted family – students, teachers, friends, guests, and loved ones from Rwanda, Thailand, Russia, Kansas, and anywhere in between. She mentored and tutored young adults. She drove neighbors to medical appointments. She volunteered at polling places. She donated generously to causes and people. She not only saw joy in the world but added her measure of beauty and kindness.

Pam loved her family. She is survived by her devoted husband of 62 years, Michel LaFond. Pam and Mike met on a double date with friends, after Mike’s friend offered him a six-pack to join them. It was the best deal Mike ever accepted. She raised, cheered on, counseled, and occasionally (or often) chided Deb LaFond Madsen, Pete LaFond, and Andy LaFond. She was “Nana” to her beloved grandchildren—Emily Madsen, Kris Madsen, Michael LaFond, Lucy LaFond, and Maisie LaFond.

Pam passed away at home in Gilmanton, on Sunday, June 14th, 2026, after a protracted argument with cancer. Her soul travels on but her memory remains as an inspiration and blessing for us all.

A service in celebration of Pam’s life will be held at St. Paul’s Church, on June 30th.

Another celebration of Pam in Minnesota will happen sometime in July - details to come.

Although Pam loved flowers, she would prefer we donate to causes and places that were close to her heart:

New Hampshire ASPCA

The Mayo Clinic

The Jimmy Fund & Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

UNICEF