BY GRETA CUYLER
As rain began to fall the night of Wednesday, May 21, Jameson Thissell, 35, called his wife to tell her he’d be home soon.
Minutes later, the motorcycle he was riding went out of control along Hackett Hill Road in Hooksett. The case is under investigation as to why Jameson Thissell of Bow veered out of his lane at 5:55 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21.
Thissell’s bike hit a car driven by Peter Cooke of Hooksett, who’s son was a passenger. Neither was hurt in the accident.
Thissell, who was wearing a helmet, was pinned under the car and although emergency crews worked to revive him, it was too late.
Known as “Jamey” to those closest to him, Thissell leaves behind his wife, Sarah, and three children -- Rebecca, 7, Nicholas, 2, and Victoria, 6 months.
“He was so full of life, he had such a full heart and loved everybody,” said Sarah Thissell.
Thissell was headed home when the accident happened, Sarah said. He had gone to check out a new motorcycle.
Thissell and Sarah met at Middlebury College in Vermont, would have celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary June 13. Thissell worked as an emergency room doctor at Concord Hospital.
“I don’t know many people who, given one-tenth of Jamey’s enthusiasm and joy in life wouldn’t be noticeably improved for it,” said Peter Blume, a doctor in the emergency department at Concord Hospital who worked alongside Thissell.
Thissell’s parents, Richard and Merrilee Thissell, live in Goffstown. Richard Thissell is the assistant principal at the Middle School at Parkside in Manchester. The couple has two other sons, Jeremiah of New Hampshire, and Joshua of Boston. “(Jamey) was my firstborn, he did so much good for so many,” said Merrilee Thissell. “There were countless times when he stopped on the highway at the scene of an accident to help someone -- he’d grab his (medical) kit and go.”
Merrilee Thissell said it appears Thissell’s motorcycle slipped on a wet patch of road. Peter Cooke extends his sympathy to the Thissell family.
“We really feel upset for Jamey and his family, all his family members, we’re really sad for them all and our hearts go out to them,” Cooke said.
At Concord Hospital, where Thissell had tended to thousands of patients during his four-year tenure as an emergency room doctor, he was remembered as a caring physician.
“Jamey had a passion for life and exhibited a joy for living each and every day,” said Michael Lynch, a doctor and president of Concord Emergency Medical Associates, where Jamey worked. “As an exemplary physician, he was skilled, committed and caring, and a valuable member of Concord Emergency Medical Associates and Concord Hospital.
Sharing laughter and lightheartedness, he was especially loved by his emergency department colleagues and co-workers. Our hearts are broken for his wife and young children. We will miss him greatly; our hospital and our community has suffered a tragic loss.”
Thissell always wanted to be a doctor, his mother said, and he worked as an EMT after college.
Sarah Thissell said her husband received one or two thank you notes from emergency room patients each month. Once, he spent 45 minutes trying to track down where a patient could get his special-order medicine.
“During Jamey’s residency, the chaplain of the medical school came up to me and said, ‘Jamey has the best bedside manner of any doctor here,’” Sarah said. “He touched a lot of people, he was an amazing doctor. He really cared about his patients.”
Thissell’s mother said one of her favorite memories of her son is when he called her from college to tell her there was someone he wanted her to meet.
That “someone” was Sarah, his wife of nearly a decade. “I think he knew she was the one,” Merrilee Thissell said. “She’s my best friend -- I don’t know what I’d do without her right now.”
Hooksett police Sgt. Kristofer Dupuis said he has no reason to believe alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash.
He said state law requires those involved in a major motor vehicle accident to undergo blood tests, which the Cookes had done at the hospital.