By Nathan Duke
Staff Writer

Goffstown's Collett Showerman will be remembered for touching the lives of thousands of people through her charity and volunteer work. She died Wednesday, March 23, of cancer. She is survived by her husband, Peter, above, and by three children and seven grandchildren. (Courtesy photo)

Goffstown lost one of its most dedicated volunteers last week when Katherine Collett Showerman died only three weeks after discovering she had cancer.

Showerman, 67, served Goffstown for over 25 years through a number of organizations and touched many lives in the process. From assisting at Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 in New York City to running a food pantry out of her garage that fed 40 to 50 families a month, Showerman spent a large part of her life improving others' lives.

"It would be hard to talk to someone in Goffstown who has been here a while who did not know her," said Leslie Kloman, one of Showerman's three daughters.

Her husband, Peter Showerman, said his wife made no stipulations to whom she helped and the pantry had no application process.

"Her guidelines were compassion and common sense," he said. "She had some people eating out of her garage for 15 years."

The Goffstown Network Food Pantry, which Showerman founded in 1982 and ran out of her garage since the early 1990s, looks like a small grocery store. Dozens of food products, cleaning items and toiletries line the shelves and two freezers keep other food products fresh.

"If somebody needed something, whether it was canned goods, frozen foods or dry goods, they could come to the garage," said her daughter, Cindy Waldheim. "If you can find it in a grocery store, you could find it here."

Collett Showerman spent many days after 9/11 volunteering with the Red Cross in New York City to provide care for rescue workers. (Courtesy Photo)

Her family said the food pantry in the garage was only a fraction of her work to help in the community.

Her husband said she used donations to the Salvation Army, where she often assisted, to help residents who could not afford to pay their utility bills and once convinced a local dentist to work for free on a single mother who could not afford to take care of her teeth.

Showerman had a rare blood type - B negative - and would, therefore, donate blood every eight weeks.

"Every time a cycle came around, she gave blood," her husband said. "Her blood was a rare type because she was a rare individual."

The Showerman's basement is filled with 64 plaques that honor the extraordinary amount of service she has given to a variety of different organizations. The wall is completely covered with awards and the rest are scattered on tables. Included on the wall are the Citizenship Award from the Pinardville Optimist Club and proclamations from Gov. John Sununu and Sen. Lou D'Allesandro. Showerman received her last award - the Devoted Service Award from Manchester's Red Cross - in the hospital.

Showerman worked with the Red Cross during 11 national disasters, including the Vermont Flood in 1997 and Hurricane Fran in 1996.

One of the largest relief projects she worked on was at ground zero, following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. From Sept. 27 to Oct. 18, 2001, Showerman provided care for rescue workers and kept a journal of her experiences.

Between the food pantry and her work with organizations, including the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots and Habitat for Humanity, Showerman constantly gave back to the community - her own and many others.

Although Showerman spent a large part of her life helping those in the community and in disaster areas throughout the country, she was was a wife, mother and grandmother first and foremost. Here she is shown with her daughters, Leslie Kloman, Cindy Waldheim and Kathy Showerman at Cindy's wedding in 1992. (Courtesy Photo)

"She was on standby for one disaster or another," said Waldheim. "She was very proud of all the work she did."

Showerman passed away at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, only 16 days after a spot on her lungs was diagnosed as cancer.

The Rev. Charles Ford Jr., of the Congregational Church of Goffstown, was with Showerman when she died.

"We were all standing around her holding hands with hers," he said. "Just as I prayed, 'Lord, receive her into the love of your embrace,' her daughters both noticed that she had stopped breathing."

Friends and associates said Showerman's friendship and dedication to the community will be greatly missed.

"She was one of the community's healers," said friend and director of Crispin's House Laurie Hambleton. "It's a huge loss for the town and for me personally. Collett was probably the bravest woman I have ever known."

Father Don Gauthier of Goffstown's St. Lawrence Church often worked with Showerman and said her dedication to people in need was endless.

Collett Showerman, here with two of her seven grandchildren, Kate and Tony Waldheim, actively served the community, even from her hospital bed days before her death. (Courtesy Photo)

"I first met her when I was looking for help for a family and she leapt to work as she always does and did everything she could," he said. "She was an extremely generous person and advocate for the poor. On the day she went into the hospital, there were eight different people that she wanted to take care of first. She then made calls from the hospital to do what she could not do in person."

Town Administrator Sue Desruisseaux was working as Goffstown's welfare director in 1993 when she met Showerman.

"She had so much energy, and she was working all the time, spending it on others," she said. "She retrofitted her whole garage into a food pantry. I don't think she could fit a car in there."

Friend Debbie Urella, who has worked closely with Showerman for a number of years on the food pantry, will be taking over the operation. The pantry will remain in the Showerman garage until a new location is chosen.

"Her work was her whole world," said Urella. "Besides her family, it is what she lived for. She gave and gave and gave and gave. I'm just lost without her. It's still hard for me to believe she is gone."

Showerman is survived by her husband, Peter, three daughters - Cyndi Waldheim, Leslie Kloman and Kathy Showerman, and seven grandchildren.

Memorial donations in Collett Showerman's name can be made to American Red Cross-Manchester Chapter, 1800 Elm St., Manchester, NH 03104; or to Goffstown Salvation Army, P.O. Box 702, Goffstown, NH 03045.