Thurston Merrell Egbert Jr. ("Sam")

died on July 18, 2020 at the age of 90 with his only regret being that he did not live to be 100.   Barbara Decker Egbert, his high school sweetheart and loving wife of 67 years, will miss him with all of her heart and cherish their long life and memories together.

Thurston would be the first to tell you that he had a happy and lucky life filled with family, fun and friends. In business he had a successful career and in retirement he had his skis, his sailboat and his tennis racquet. Thurston was born in New Haven, Conn., moved often and met Barbara in 10th grade Spanish class at Passaic High School, Passaic, N.J. He attended Dartmouth College ('52, Sigma Alpha Epsilon) where he earned his bachelor's degree in English. He and Barbara wed right after he was commissioned in the Navy, where he was stationed in Norfolk, Va., during the Korean War. He was a proud Veteran who loved his country.

After the Navy, he was a reporter for the Passaic Herald News until 1960 when he went to work for General Electric. In 1967, he moved with his family to Paris, France, to serve as chief press and public relations officer for GE's computer subsidiary, Machines Bull. In 1970, he was promoted to public relations manager for all of GE's European operations, based in Geneva, Switzerland and subsequently Brussels, Belgium. In that position he played a key role in GE's expansion throughout Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He returned to the United States in 1979 to serve on GE's corporate public relations staff with company-wide responsibility. He retired in 1987.

At his winter home in New Hampshire, Sam was an avid skier known at Attitash for being in the first chair of the lift every day, all season and for being a proud member of the AOGAs (Attitash Old Goats Association). His trail reports were predictably consistent: It was always perfect! There was no such thing as a bad day of skiing, just bad clothing choices. He advised everyone to “give every day a chance because you don't know if you don't go!” At his summer home in coastal Maine, Sam sailed and played tennis every day. When not outdoors, he took great pleasure in completing the New York Times crossword puzzle in red ink, since he had learned to do that with his mother as a child. He loved his peaceful lifestyle.

His life lessons will live on in his family: Susan, Rogers, Karolyn, Merrell, Kadie, Nataliya, Lauren and Matt. His son, Thurston Merrell Egbert III predeceased him and undoubtedly on Saturday night they had a three-olive martini together.

It was Sam’s wish to avoid the formalities of services and to encourage everyone to appreciate their lives and find pleasure in the outdoors. The family sends grateful thanks to the medical professionals involved for their knowledge & kindness. Typical Sam, he had no patience for cancer.

Please show support to Visiting Nurse Home Care & Hospice of Carroll County or The Bartlett-Jackson Ambulance Service in Bartlett, N.H. The Cremation Society of New Hampshire, Littleton is in charge of arrangements. To view an online tribute, send condolences to the family or for more information, go to csnh.com.--

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Hansjoerg Ettel 79, of Bartlett, N.H., passed away at Maine Medical Center on Oct. 30, 2021, after a short illness. Born in Cologne, Germany, he was a professionally trained druggist, owning several shops, as well as a traditional Bavarian Inn in the Alps. His hobby of photography followed him to the United States when he moved here in 1970s.

Joerg had lived in several parts of this country, but fell in love with the Mount Washington Valley while on a tour of New England. He decided to move to Bartlett and made this his home there for the next 40-plus years. But, he never lost his love for his “birth city,” proudly flying the city banner of Cologne in his front yard on West Side Road.

He also retained his love of Formula 1 racing, Koelsch beer and German food. Always a great host, he would make authentic German Sauerbraten for his guests. And, dinner was always followed with a dessert to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth, including his!

Using his interest in photography he opened the Olde Time Photo booth at the Shops of Attitash, one of a number of craft shops organized for the summer operations at Attitash Ski Area. Joerg made many longtime friends among the other craft shop owners and visitors that came to Attitash during the summer months and to the Attitash Red Carpet Ski Shop, during the winter ski season. He joined the staff at Heaven’s Ski Shop in Glen, N.H., when it opened. Through his work, he met Forrester Clark and later became the caretaker of the family’s Wolfville property. Joerg became the face of Wolfville to the many generations of the Clark family and friends who visited the Bartlett property over the years. He managed and maintained the house and the grounds until his recent passing.

Joerg was a friend to many and always ready to lend a helping hand. He was the perfect gentleman to all, strangers and friends alike, open but never one to pry. He will be greatly missed by all those he touched with his calm presence and caring attitude. Hansjoerg is survived by his son, Hansjoerg Jr. who lives in Germany.

There is a celebration remembrance of Joerg being planned for the spring of 2022. Details to be announced when complete.


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Jan Gordon Filip III


As  Frank Sinatra occasionally sang,” I’m going to live until I die,” so could be said of Jan Gordon Filip III, who died peacefully in his sleep on Feb. 1, 2022. Born the youngest of three children near Prague, Czechoslovakia, Jan, an adventurous spirit, was the only one from his family to flee his homeland. While weary of the rise of communism spreading throughout Czechoslovakia, Jan made the inconceivable decision at the age of 18 to literally “take a hike” by heading into the nearby mountains with just his backpack. It was there he was confronted by guards who believed the story of his going on a “hiking trip.” Later that night, under the threat of searchlights, he was able to give them all the slip and swim across the border to safety.

After spending a couple years living at the U.S.-led refugee camp in Germany, he was fortunate to, as he would say, “seize the moment” in his current life by accepting a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on the condition of joining the military at some point in the future. Since he was fluent in six languages, Jan was a natural candidate for the U.S. Army’s Intelligence Division where he served for four years. Not only was he able to receive a degree in civil engineering from Boston’s Northeastern University and MIT, he also was able to receive his U.S. citizenship, which was what he was aiming for all along.


His  influential decision to come to America was made easier by sponsorship from the Boy Scouts of America. As well as meeting up with Jan upon arrival in America, their Northeast Reginal Director helped him secure a job at Pine Knoll Camp in Albany, N.H. This summer counselor’s job eventually led to a blind date set up by Jan’s co-counselor with a girl from Glen, N.H. This could be another one of those moments in one’s life when something happens, as Jan so recently liked to ponder, that causes one to go in a totally different direction ... that is when he introduced himself to Stella Clark, proprietor of Storybook Inn in Glen, N.H., and mother to Charless Ann Tofft. That same day Stella would prophesize to her daughter that she had just met Charless’ husband!


No surprise then for Stella when Jan and Charless married in Dec. 15, 1955, in Boston. They were to spend the next 61 years together raising four children and a number of exotic birds, bulldogs, cats and sheep, while running Storybook Inn and several other businesses in the Mount Washington Valley for the rest of their lives. Quite the storyteller, Jan liked to talk about how after taking over the helm at Storybook Inn in 1958, he was offered a job on the spot as an engineer to help with the project design of Routes 16 and 302 in Glen, and how he was instrumental in getting the state of New Hampshire to build the road so that it would go directly in front of the inn.

Jan enjoyed telling the story of when he and his wife took over Storybook Inn after the death of Charless’ mother, they made the major decision in declining several local offers to buy the property. Apparently, the potential buyers felt the young couple could use some help with the inn’s $50,000 debt by offering them $50,000 for the property. With a lot of hard work and long hours throughout the years, they were able to pay off that $50,000 debt and secure a loan from the bank six years later to build 20 more units. Jan’s vision of building an ice cream store across the street became a reality when the doors to the Glen Dairy Queen opened in 1968. While Charless cooked and ran the inn’s restaurant, Jan ran the Dairy Queen, and they both shared in renting Storybook’s rooms. From then on about every decade some major expansion took place at Storybook Inn, to include six new buildings and one major renovation while becoming a Best Western hotel member for about 20 years.

Over the years, Charless and Jan were able to acquire Sylvan Pines motel in North Conway, N.H., and the Red Apple Inn in Glen. Jan started The Breakfast Club restaurant in North Conway then 13 years ago replaced that building with a new Dairy Queen. About four or six years back, Jan received a beautiful golf cart for Father’s Day. Proud of his family roots and heritage, Jan made sure to display a sticker of the Czech flag on the golf cart. He enjoyed driving around the property on that bright yellow golf cart nodding to guests and employees. He was very much a lover of flowers, plants, shrubs and fruit trees and found pleasure in checking on them while out on his rides about the property. He would get a thrill when some of his house plants, especially the Christmas cactus, would bloom.


He took great pride in the past two years for peddling on his exercise bicycle the distance in miles to peddle to California and back. His life revolved around his family and of course his businesses. He was supportive in watching his granddaughter, Leilani, performing in her theater and dance recitals these past few years, and was fortunate to meet his namesake, his grandson, when he was born almost two years ago. He always looked forward to going swimming for hours upon hours in Jamaica’s Caribbean Sea and relaxing on the beach with his wife and family members on their nearly annual late fall vacations. He was passionate about traveling and visited six continents with his wife throughout the years.

He was a member of the North Conway Rotary Club for over 50 years with a virtually perfect attendance record. He was also a member of the Masons in North Conway, where he held the top leadership role at one point. He volunteered with the 4-H sheep program and volunteered with the Eastern Slope Ski Club Junior Ski Program where he taught skiing. Being an avid skier, he was one of the first people from New Hampshire to go helicopter skiing in the Bugaboos of British Columbia and continued skiing for most of his life.

Throughout the years Jan has been a staunch employer of hundreds of locals and foreign students, not to mention personally driving up to Berlin, N.H., to transport employees to and from work. Jan knew how to buckle down and work diligently, often toiling 18 hours a day until the job was done. This hard-earned attribute prompted one of his children to remark: “He was the toughest employer I ever had.” Another recently commented they’d consider it fortunate to get to Jan’s age and be able to do even half the things he was doing. Jan never really retired from working. In fact, he was still going strong at age 95. This past summer and fall, he was still an integral employer for Storybook Inn ... still the Filip family rock. He has been an important figure in our lives. His continuing presence is heartfelt and we are heartbroken; he will be sorely missed. Jan is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Charless, as of 5½ years ago; and by his sisters, Elizabeth and Ludmila. He is survived by his children, Jan Filip, IV and grandson, Jan Filip, V; Lucy (Brian) Eling and granddaughter, Leilani; Chris (Marc) Zuffa and granddaughter, Stefany; and Elizabeth Filip; also his nephew, Joseph Vastl and family. A private burial is planned for the spring.
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Vivian Rose Eastman, 93, of Glen N.H., passed away  peaceably on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, at the Memorial Hospital in North Conway, N.H., with her loving family by her side.

Vivian was born in Bartlett, N.H., to George A. and Emma R. (Burke) Robertson on Nov. 19, 1928. She was a lifelong resident of the Mount Washington Valley and will be missed by everyone that knew her. She was the last survivor of 11 children.

She married Arnold P. Eastman on Dec. 23, 1952. Together they raised five children. Mom was a homemaker and was always canning fruits and vegetables, churning butter, making doughnuts, baking bread and many sweets as Daddy always carried a dinner pail. There was always an extra plate at the table as you never knew who the kids or Dad would bring home to feed.

When we were little, there was usually a Sunday ride to Brownfield, Maine, to purchase Italian sandwiches and check out the Brownfield fire damage. We would then go to Fryeburg, Maine, and get an ice cream at The Dairy Joy.

Mom loved our mother/daughter weekends that we enjoyed once a month. We would stay at each others house for the weekend and play cards, eat, and party till one or two in the morning. Her favorite trip was the weekend we went to Camden/Rockland, Maine. Her greatest joy was being a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother. She was a past member of the Glen Grange, Glen Community Baptist Church, and the Bartlett Rescue. She was also a member of the Glen-Bartlett County Extension Group where she learned to make jellies, can vegetables, cane chairs, hook rugs, braid rugs, quilting, and anything to do with the home.

She had the honor of going to the Mall in Washington D.C., with her sister in law Dorothy Towle to present quilt making during the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Deeply Rooted: Celebrating New Hampshire Stories. They also displayed the 1976 Bi-Centennial Quilt made by both of them and the Glen-Bartlett Extension Group which now resides at the Conway Historical Society. She was a great seamstress and made many of her children’s clothes as well as her own. Knitting was a hobby of hers and her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandson were the recipients of her many sweaters, hats, and mittens. Some of us are fortunate to have received one of her quilts to treasure forever.

She is survived by her four children, Karen (Terry) Leach of Fryeburg; Rose (Reggie) Illsley of Intervale, N.H.; Allen (Debbie) Eastman of Glen, N.H. and Joyce Shaffner of Bridgton, Maine; son in law Hal Handelman of Arizona; grandchildren, Tommy Leach, Michael (Erin) Leach, Patrick (Jen) Haley, Adam Haley, Jeffrey (Roxanne) Lucy and Stephanie (Jon) Poure; great-grandchildren, Alexis, Emma Leach, Ryan, Renee, Dylan, Dustin, Hermoine Haley, Meredith, Alexander Lucy and Lillian and Gavin Poure; great-great-grandson Bentley Daniel Wade McCloud and her companion, Gordon Lang. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was predeceased by her husband Arnold (Gib) Eastman, oldest daughter D. Gail (Haley) Handelman, her parents George and Emma, and her brothers Cecil, Albert, George Jr., Seth, Glenn (Pike), Floyd (Sharkie),and Victor; sisters Pearl, Annie, and Stella.

Graveside services will be held on Friday, Aug. 19, at 1 p.m. at the Glen Cemetery. Furber and White Funeral Home in North Conway is in charge of the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bartlett/Jackson Rescue Glen, NH 03838.

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MARK Wayne Dolley, son of the late Gary Dolley and Marcia Clemons Dolley, died of natural causes on July 15, 2023. He grew up in Bartlett, N.H., and joined the Army after graduating from Kennett High School, spending time in Colorado and Germany. While in the Army, Mark also enjoyed skiing the Rockies and the Alps. He lived in San Diego, Calif., after his time in the service. Mark then moved back East to be closer to family and settled in southern New Hampshire, where he lived and worked for the last few decades. He liked the challenge of working on big rigs in his job as a heavy duty mechanic. He also loved music, car racing and Boston sports teams, especially watching the Red Sox with his dad. Mark is survived by his mother Marcia Dolley; sisters, Denise Barrington and Sherry Roberts; niece Kirby Barrington; nephews Jacob Barrington and Christopher Roberts; and several aunts and uncles. A private memorial will be held for close family.---

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David A. Dudley, Jr., 72, of Stewartstown, died at the Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, following a brief battle with brain cancer.

To those in Stewartstown he was known as the local butcher, to his friends and family he was a wonderful brother, uncle, father, grandfather and lifelong friend. David passed away quietly surrounded by the love of his life, Christine Webster, and his two daughters.

David was born at Memorial Hospital in North Conway on July 31, 1951, to Cecile Miller and David Dudley, Sr. He was raised in Bartlett along with his three sweet sisters, Diane, Connie and Beverly. He also spoke lovingly about his hometown and the many hours he spent in the woods hunting and fishing, swimming the rivers, messing around at the railroad trestles, learning to play instruments from the neighbors and, of course, causing a little town mischief with "the Bartlett boys.” You all know who you are!

He also spent many summers taking the train from Bartlett to Colebrook to work on his grandparent’s farm. He would often tell of the hard work in those hot fields, required porch naps (even as a teenager), meals made from scratch, the occasional root beer float, learning to pickle, milking the cows, replacing fence posts, and sleeping like a rock in that old farm house.

David attended school at Bartlett Elementary School and then A. Crosby Kennett High School in Conway. He played sports, and was a member of the choir and band during his high school days. He later left high school and joined the Navy, making the USS Buck 761 his new home. He proudly served his country, enjoyed all the travel and returned to civilian life.

David returned to his love of music and played the bass guitar in many local bands, got married and raised his family in the Conway area. Over the years he worked for JV Components, Mr. Butcher, Hannaford Supermarkets, Palmer Machine Shop, and Solomon's Grocery where he worked for almost 20 years in West Stewartstown, retiring in 2018.

David has two daughters from a previous marriage: Stacey Dudley and her husband Drew Strout of Lincolnville, Me., and Jamie Dudley and her partner Donnie Butters of Chatham N.H. He leaves behind 5 grandchildren for whom his world revolved around, and he recently learned he would become a great-grandfather this fall to twins! Known as Camp Grampa to them, he was the keeper of good snacks, he was the great north woods "deer & bear killer" and one heck of a fisherman! Every brook they dropped line in was a magic brook! For the past 13 years, 

David was reunited with a middle school girlfriend he met again at a class reunion. He and his honey-bee (Christine) spent a little more than the last decade caring for each other in their little cabin in the woods. They spent much of their time raising gardens, canning, laughing and telling stories from their porch, watching the hummingbirds, and preparing for the seasons of the north country that can include multiple winters, 3rd spring, 2 weeks of summer, all in the same year! They loved the solitude and simplicity of their life in Stewartstown. Christine and his daughters will recall his love of ice cream, lobster and lottery tickets. He loved all of God’s animals, especially his golden retriever "Ole Holly Girl," who saw him through tough times. David's retirement left more time to go antiquing, renewed his interest in old coins, getting reacquainted with old western movies, getting back into bow-hunting, and spending more time with his family and friends. His daughters will spend the rest of their lives trying to perfect his pot roast and mashed potatoes! Just the best evah! David will always be remembered for his sense of humor, colorful language, hospitality, love of cooking, independent nature and willingness to learn. He would tell you he never went to college because the school of "hard knocks" was offering a free ride for all of those who showed up! Then he would nudge your shoulder, smile and laugh and give you a big hootie-who!

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He will be sadly missed but his memory will live on in our hearts. Visting hours are planned at Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home at 103 Main Street, Colebrook, NH, on Sunday, May 19th, 2024, from 1:30-3 pm. A celebration of life will be planned later this summer. Expressions of sympathy in David's memory may be made to: Homeland Heroes Foundation, 10 Delaware Drive, Suite 1, Salem, NH 03079; or visit: www.homelandheroesfoundation.org. Condolences may be offered on-line by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home in Colebrook. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of David A. Dudley Jr please visit our Sympathy Store._