LACONIA ---- Phyllis G. McIntire – Higgins, 101, passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at Belknap County Nursing Home.
Born on August 23, 1924, in Orleans, VT, Phyllis was the daughter of Walter R Young and Mabel (Bennett) Young.
Phyllis attended mechanical engineering school in the 1940s while working in the mills in Vermont. She retired from the Laconia State School in the 1980s. In her younger years Phyllis enjoyed hunting and shooting competitions as well as racing in the local Powder Puff Derby. She loved to sew and crochet, making her own clothing and decorating her home. She loved to draw and paint, leaving behind some beautiful art pieces for her family to enjoy.
In her retirement years she spent the winters snowmobiling and going to antique shows, and in the summer, she would sell what she could part with from her antique shop. She was the mother everyone loved. Even though she had to work outside the home, her free time was for her children. House cleaning time meant time to sing and dance while getting the chores done. She was always ready to play a board game or card game. She loved to send the ball flying when playing croquet or baseball. She swam with her family in the summer and raced them around the pond on ice skates in the winter.
We will miss her easy-going nature, and hearing her say, “I love you.”
She is survived by two of her children; daughter Karon Thibault and her husband Lionel, and her son Leon McIntire, Jr. She also leaves five grandchildren, Edward James McIntire, Stephanie Place, Ryan McIntire, Sarah McIntire-Walker, and Leon McIntire III, and four great-grandchildren. Along with her parents, Phyllis was predeceased by her two husbands, Leon McIntire and Nelson Higgins, and sons Theodore McIntire, Edward McIntire and Daniel Higgins.
The family would like to thank the wonderful staff of Belknap County Nursing Home. They showed Phyllis so much love and kindness during her ten years there.
For those who wish, the family suggests memorial contributions in Phyliss’ name be made to Belknap County Nursing Home, c/o The Activities Dept, 30 County Road, Laconia, NH 03246.
A Calling Hour will be held on Friday, December 12, 2025, from 11:30am-12:30 pm in the Carriage House at the Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home,164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH.
A funeral service will follow at 12:30pm at the funeral home.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit wilkinsonbeane.com.