Wilbur L. Ashworth

Wilbur L. Ashworth, 81, of Hooksett, passed away peacefully in his home on December 29, 2023. He is the loving husband of Barbara L. (Brazier) Ashworth with whom he shared 56 years of marriage.

Will was born on April 28, 1942 in Newark, New Jersey to Robert and Ruth (Isherwood) Ashworth. A graduate of Keene (NH) High School, he obtained a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree at Idaho State University in Speech Pathology & Audiology. Will’s career brought his family to several states, most notably 18 years in North Dakota while working as Executive Director of ND Easter Seals. The family returned to Concord, New Hampshire where he continued using his fund-raising skills as Executive Director of NH March of Dimes. Will was also a member of several Masonic Bodies, Priscilla Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star in Penacook, and a parishioner of Grace Episcopal Church in Concord.

Upon his retirement in 2007, Will began to embrace his life-long passion for art. He started taking classes at the Centennial Senior Center and Hooksett Library, primarily using pastels and acrylics to create paintings that his family and friends will cherish forever. He was an active and enthusiastic horseshoe pitcher for much of his life, participating in leagues in Bismarck, ND, as well as Concord and Nashua, NH. This led to attending several State and New England championships, along with the World Horseshoe Pitching Tournament in 2014. In recent years he served as Secretary-Treasurer of the New Hampshire Horseshoe Pitchers Association. Always the organizer, Will also started various social and volunteering activities at their residential community.

Along with his wife Barbara, Will is survived by his children, Julia L’Heureux and her husband David of Manchester, and Daniel Ashworth and his wife Meg of Cambridge, Iowa; his grandchildren, Marc and Sydney L’Heureux, Ava and Ella Ashworth; sister-in-law Margaret Magoon of Milford; and many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents, and sister Linda Yeaw.

A memorial gathering will be held on Thursday, January 18th from 3:30-5:30 PM at The Phaneuf Funeral Home & Crematorium, 243 Hanover Street in Manchester. A Celebration of Life will be held the following day, January 19th at 11:00 AM at Grace Episcopal Church, 30 Eastman Street in Concord. Interment will be held privately in the Spring at the Chesterfield West Cemetery, Chesterfield, NH.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Will’s memory may be made to the American Heart Association, 2 Wall St. Manchester, NH 03101.