Gail E. Westergren

Gail Elizabeth Westergren, 52, of Milford, NH, passed away on November 6, 2009 at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack, NH after battling breast cancer. She was born on November 17, 1956 in Amityville, NY, a daughter of Charles F. Kaufold of Milford, NH and the late Gladys (Walters) Kaufold. Gail was a Past Grand Worthy Advisor of NH Rainbow Girls. Following her high school graduation from Milford High School, Class of 1974, Gail went on to Keene State College to receive her Bachelor of Education in 1978. She earned her Masters of Education from Notre Dame College in Manchester, and ultimately received her CAGS degree from Plymouth State College in 2004. Gail began her teaching career in the Milford Elementary school system where she taught for 21 years, and then went on to the state program, Reading Recovery, for 9 years. She then entered the Manchester School system holding numerous positions as Title I Reading Supervisor for several district schools and then Assistant Principal for Gossler Park School in Manchester and later was Principal of the Mont Vernon Village School. Gail, her husband, and their three West Highland Terriers, Darby, Duncan and Daisy, enjoyed spending time at their lake house on Squam Lake. In addition to her father, family members include her husband, Richard A. Westergren of Milford, NH, whom she married on June 29, 1996; two children, Nicole LaJeunesse of Manchester, NH and Phillip LaJeunesse of Hudson, NH; two stepchildren, Amy Robinson and her husband, John of Salem, NJ, Rob Westergren and his wife, Stephanie of Windham, ME; four grandchildren; two brothers and a sister-in-law, Bill & Sheliah Kaufold and Kurt Kaufold, all of Milford; her mother-in-law, Opal Keslowe of Hickory, NC; her sister-in-law, Susan Hanley-Lee and her husband, Jim of Taylorsville, NC; her brother-in-law, Randy Westergren and his wife, Penney of Dover, DE; several nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. Visiting hours are Wednesday, November 11th from 2-4 & 7-9 pm in the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford, NH. Funeral services will be held on Thursday at 10:00 am in the Milford United Methodist Church, 327 North River Road, Milford. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Milford. Following the interment, everyone is invited to join the family back at the church for a reception. The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Milford United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 476, Milford, NH 03055 or to the Principal Gail E. Westergren Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Bill Kaufold, 44 Fox Run Road, Milford, NH 03055.