Donna L. (Stevens) Tarrien NEWPORT — Donna Lea (Stevens) Tarrien died peacefully in her home after a long battle with cancer on April 15, 2020, in Unity, New Hampshire, at the age of 81. Donna was born on Aug. 19, 1938, in Winchester, Massachusetts, to Dorothy and Charles Stevens. She married the love of her life, Carleton (Carl) Tarrien in 1968 and moved to Sunapee, New Hampshire. They built their home in Unity in 1989. During her life, Donna enjoyed several occupations: she was a weaver at Dorr Woolen Mill; a cashier at several retail stores; a cocktail waitress at The Shanty; and a Justice of the Peace for Sullivan County. But her favorite role in life besides being a wife, mother and grandmother, was working at Mount Sunapee during the ski season. Donna will always be remembered as a person who loved the outdoors, often camping and hiking the trails of local parks and canoeing with her husband and children. She was a person who cared deeply for family and friends and never met a stranger twice, quick to make friends wherever she went. She loved trains and traveled across the country and back by rail and collected and displayed model trains. An avid reader, her hobbies included sewing, quilting, knitting and cross stitching, and her home is full of handcrafted items made with love, which she also shared with family. Donna is predeceased by her father, Charles C. Stevens, who died in Melrose, Massachusetts, in February 1974; and her mother, Dorothy (Turner) Stevens, who passed away in Newport, New Hampshire, in October 1986. Surviving family members include her husband, Carleton Henry Tarrien; children Charles “Chuck” Noltie of Somerset, Kentucky, Lisa (Noltie) Roberts of King George, Virginia, Michelle (Noltie) Wallace of Newport, Christopher “Chris” Noltie of Unity, and Carleton Henry “Terry” Tarrien Jr. of Unity; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A funeral service and celebration of life is planned and will be scheduled at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the American Cancer Society, https://donate3.cancer.org. To sign an online guestbook, visit www.newtonbartlett.com. Newton-Bartlett Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.
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