Posted by Terry Powers on December 15, 2022:

JOHN PALMER CHANDLER obituary, 1926-2015, Boston, NH CHANDLER, John Palmer 89, of Hill, NH, died May 18th at his home in Meredith, NH of pneumonia after a long illness. He spent his boyhood summers on Murray Hill and was a resident of Hill, NH since 1947. Born May 18,1926, in Boston, MA, he was the younger son of Norman Bemis Chandler and Mary (Laning) Palmer), both deceased. He graduated from Browne & Nichols School (1943), attended Harvard College for two years (Class of 1947) and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1949. He held masters degrees from Harvard University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and George Washington University. He was a licensed Professional Engineer. He served over thirty-one years in the Army, first as an enlisted man in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and subsequently as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His principal assignments included command of engineer units at platoon, company, battalion and group level, engineer advisor to the armed forces of South Korea, Bolivia and the Republic of Vietnam and general staff officer in the Office of the Army Chief of Staff. His final assignment was as the Division Engineer of the New England Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he was appointed to the International Joint Commission (US & Canada) and briefly as Chairman of the New England River Basins Commission. His decorations include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two clusters, Meritorious Service Medal and Joint Service and Army Commendation medals. He was also decorated by the governments of Bolivia, and Republic of Viet Nam. Since retirement from military service in 1979, Colonel Chandler has been a vice president of Anderson-Nichols (1980), Architect-Engineers in Concord, NH, taught eight years as a lecturer at Plymouth State College, was NH Commissioner of Public Works & Highways (1985) and represented Merrimack District #1 in the NH House of Representatives for three terms (1991-1996) and was vice-chairman of the House Public Works & Highways Committee. He held town offices for many years on school, planning and zoning boards and served as chairman of the Lakes Region Planning Commission. In the private sector he served on the boards of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, Franklin Regional Hospital, Lakes Region Charitable Foundation, NH Society of Professional Engineers, Merrimack River Watershed Council, Franklin Rotary Club, Franklin and Starr King Unitarian Universalist Congregations and long term president of the Hill Historical Society. Colonel Chandler was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club-Institute of 1770 and D.U./Iroquois Clubs at Harvard, the Army and Navy Club, Washington, D.C., the Association Of the United States Army, the Army Engineer Association, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Society of American Military Engineers as a Fellow, the NH Council on World Affairs and numerous other organizations. He was predeceased by his brother, Colonel Norman Palmer Chandler of Exeter, NH, who died in 1997. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Jane Campbell Chandler, three daughters, Mary Chandler Marder of Weston, MA, Anne Campbell Chandler of Danbury, NH, and Jean Palmer Chandler of Concord, MA,, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. The memorial service will take place Sunday, June 7th at 3 p.m. at the Starr King Unitarian Universalist Church in Plymouth, N.H. The burial will be private. Memorial donations may be made to the Hill Historical Society, P.O. Box 193, Hill, NH 03243. Published by Boston Globe from May 22 to May 24, 2015.

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