Fire kills woman in Hooksett

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:26:00 GMT

By Dan O’Brien

A three-alarm fire that broke out at 253 Hackett Hill Road in Hooksett the morning of Oct. 16 caused the entire structure to collapse and killed the woman inside, fire officials said.

The body of Suzanne Dionne, 65, was pulled from the rubble shortly before noon as family members looked on. Firefighters were still dousing hot spots about seven hours after the fire began.

Dionne’s brother, Ed, who lives in Florida, hadn’t seen his sister in several years until last month when he returned to New Hampshire to help care for a sick family member.

When asked if he was grateful for the time they shared, he answered, “Yes. Very much so.” “We wanted to take her out to dinner last night but she wasn’t home,” he said, adding that she was very active. “She was a very independent woman.”

“We did things with her as much as possible, but we wish we could have done more,” said Suzanne’s other brother, Ray Dionne.

Hooksett Deputy Fire Chief Michael Hoisington said it took so long to remove Dionne’s body due to “the complete collapse of the entire structure.” “It’s a total loss,” he said.

Several family members, including Dionne’s brother, Bill, who lived next door to his sister, said her house was about 300 years old.

Family members said Dionne worked at the Sylvania plant in Hooksett as an assembly worker for more than 20 years. She lived at the Hackett Hill Road home her entire life and graduated from Manchester West High School in 1964, said her brother, Ray.

Kim Belisle, who lives across the street from the burned home, said she woke up that day to the sound of fire engines.

“I just stood and watched it and I cried,” Belisle said. “There was nothing I could do. The whole house was engulfed. I knew there was no way they could get to her.”

Belisle said she spoke with Dionne often and took in one of her kittens after an adult cat gave birth. She said Dionne owned between 15 and 20 cats.

Family members said Dionne never married and did not have any children. Her sister- in-law Sally Dionne, who also lives next door, said she awoke that morning to her son and his wife shouting that there was a fire at Suzanne’s house.

“We wanted to get inside,” Sally Dionne said. “We didn’t get any further than the porch. It was too late.”

Ray Dionne said his sister was active in many organizations over the years, including the Catholic Church, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans. She retired a few years ago to care for her late mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, he said. She also assisted driving elderly people to doctor’s appointments.

“She filled her life by helping people,” Ray said.

Hooksett Fire Warden Harold Murray said the last fatal fire in Hooksett occurred 14 years ago when a man died in a house on Main Street.

Dionne’s official cause of death will be determined in the coming days by the state medical examiner.

Hooksett woman killed in Virginia crash

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:10:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

According to one testimony, Kamala St. Germain’s life may have been cut short, but she lived every second of her 75 years to the fullest.

“She was just the most serene, spiritual person you could ever meet,” said massage therapist Deanna Raymond of Brentwood. “She was always calm; she just had a motherly presence about her.”

Virginia State Police announced Dec. 4 that St. Germain, a Hooksett resident, died in a six-car pileup on Interstate 95 on Dec. 1.

Raymond, a student of the St. Germain’s DoveStar School of Holistic Technology, said she discovered the news of her mentor’s death on Dec. 3, when employees of the school were expressing their grief on their online Facebook profiles.

“Everyone in the DoveStar community is kind of shocked,” Raymond said. “We’re all e-mailing each other and giving each other support.

St. Germain was in a Honda headed north on Interstate 95 when she was rear-ended by a 2001 Kenworth tractor-trailer driven by Warren Lucas Tomlinson Jr., 64, of Emporia, Va., the “Progress-Index” of Petersburg, Va., reported.

St. Germain’s Honda was wedged underneath the tractor-trailer when it ignited, setting an SUV ablaze.

The crash closed northbound I-95 for about seven hours.

According to St. Germain’s Web site, she was an ordained minister and had a doctorate in divinity from the Universal Life Church. She founded the DoveStar School of Holistic Technology and completed a three-month yoga teacher program at the Shivananda Yoga Center in Val Morin, Quebec. She taught yoga and massage internationally for 44 years.

St. Germain was a certified clinical hypnotherapist, an astrologer, licensed massage therapist, a Reiki master teacher and a practitioner of colon hydrotherapy.

She had five children, 10 grandchildren and several great grandchildren.

She taught and lectured on holistic health at the collegiate level, on radio and television, locally and internationally since 1965 and authored many published articles.

Employees at the DoveStar School in Hooksett declined to comment on the accident.

Raymond attended the DoveStar School from 2003 to 2006 and took several massage therapy classes offered by St. Germain.

“She was everyone’s mentor,” Raymond said.

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Fire kills woman in Hooksett

Hooksett woman killed in Virginia crash