Philip H. Decelle July 21, 1933 – January 27, 2019 Send Flowers View/Sign Guest Book| Send Sympathy Card Wolfeboro, NH Philip H. Decelle, 85, of Wolfeboro passed away peacefully on January 27, 2019. Philip was born in Ware, Massachusetts. on July 21, 1933 to Aurore (née Sorel) and Aime J. Decelle.
Mr. Decelle attended public school in Ware, MA and, later, a preparatory school in Tilton, N.H. He then attended the University of New Hampshire where he majored in business administration and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1956. Philip was actively involved in athletics, earning varsity letters in football and baseball.
He was a member of Phi Theta Kappa Fraternity and as a senior was inducted into the Blue Key Honorary Society. While at UNH he was also a member of the ROTC. During his sophomore year he met his future wife Joan Picard of Peterborough NH.
They were married on December 21, 1957. Upon graduation he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army (Armor Division). In the fall of 1956 he was stationed in Fort Carson CO.
Having been raised in a French speaking family, he was assigned as an interpreter for visiting Vietnamese soldiers. Mr. Decelle went on to become for 35 years a Social Studies teacher before retiring in 1993. He taught in Groton, VT, Barre, MA, and, for 29 years, in Wolfeboro, NH.
Mr. Decelle was one of the original staff members of Kingswood Regional High School when it opened in 1964. At Kingswood he was a classroom teacher, head of the Social Studies department, a baseball and football coach, and advisor to various student organizations during his tenure. Students will remember him for his booming voice, his love of lecturing about the “isms” (socialism, communism), and for being a challenging, but motivating, teacher.
Phil also served his church in several capacities including as a lector and minister of the Holy Eucharist. He participated in these activities both at the former St Cecilia’s in Wolfeboro and, more recently, at St. Katharine Drexel Church in Alton, NH. Among the activities he enjoyed were fishing, working with the Wolfeboro Historical Society and Libby Museum, and reading about and speaking on various subjects dealing with New Hampshire history.
He was actively involved in both the New Hampshire and Governor Wentworth Retired Educators Associations. Important above all else for Phil was spending time with his family. He loved watching and attending sporting events with his wife Joan.
The annual summer vacation with his entire family in Wolfeboro was the highlight of each year where “Pop”, as he was known, was happiest spending time with his grandchildren. Phil leaves behind Joan, his wife of 61 years. Family members include his son Michael and his wife Linda of Stratham NH, son Tim of Corpus Christi TX, daughter Kathy Aldrich and her husband Dennis of Canton MA.
His grandchildren Emily Negroponte and her husband George, Sarah Decelle, Jonathan Decelle, Meg Aldrich, and Maya Aldrich will miss him very much. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Katharine Drexel Church, Rte. 28, Alton, NH, on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at 11:00 AM with Fr.
Robert F. Cole as celebrant. Prior to the mass, there will be a visitation hour starting a 10AM. A reception in the church hall will immediately follow the mass.
In lieu of flowers a contribution can be made in Phil’s name to the Governor Wentworth Retired Educators’ Association, c/o Robert Coolidge, PO Box 1016, Wolfeboro, NH 03894.
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