Douglas Allen McIninch

Douglas Allen McIninch, 79, passed away on April 19, 2024, while on a fly-fishing trip in Canada with friends. Doug was born on July 8, 1944, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, son of Ralph A. and Elizabeth F. McIninch. Raised in Manchester, NH, he was through and through a Manchester boy, and remained dedicated to the community throughout his life.

Doug graduated from New Hampton School, and earned his bachelor’s degree from Tufts University, where he was president of his fraternity. He served two tours in the Pacific during the Vietnam War aboard the destroyer U.S.S. Brinkley Bass, achieving the rank of Lieutenant. When he returned home, he earned his law degree from Suffolk University Law School, and was a member of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Bar Associations. In his early years practicing law, he worked for the Hillsborough County Attorney’s office, and then practiced as a partner at Eaton, Solms, Mills and McIninch, and later Eaton and McIninch.  

Doug met Nancy, his wife of 49 years, at Cheers Bar in Boston. They enjoyed sailing, camping and spending time with friends, and a couple years later were married. They had a vibrant social life in the city, but Doug was most at home in the nature of New Hampshire. The pair moved to Windham, New Hampshire in 1974, where they welcomed their two daughters, Laura and Erica. Playful, affectionate, and nurturing throughout his life, Doug was a natural father. As a family, they loved to spend time at Lake Winnipesaukee boating, swimming, waterskiing, skiing, snowmobiling, and sitting by the fire. The family moved to Bedford, New Hampshire, in 1987.

Doug was an active contributor to New Hampshire-based organizations, serving on the board of The Derryfield School, New Hampton School, The Boy Scouts of America, The YMCA, The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, and The Manchester Mental Health Foundation. He served as an incorporator for The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Canterbury Shaker Village, and ran several capital campaigns for New Hampshire institutions. Most significantly, he served as chair of The Samuel Hunt Foundation and The McIninch Foundation.

After retiring, Doug remained busy with his philanthropic work and his many hobbies and friendships. In his 60s, he was introduced to race car driving and fell in love. This was the culmination of a life-long passion for engines and vehicles. When he was fourteen, he bought a junk car and took apart the engine just to put it together again. Fifty years later, he was a race instructor, introducing new drivers to the sport with patience, good humor, and the wealth of knowledge that resulted from his characteristic curiosity and interest in how things worked. Later, Doug earned a captain’s license for ocean navigation. Doug and Nancy’s first adventure aboard their ocean boat, “The Nancy M.”, was to drive it back home on connecting waterways all the way from Wisconsin. Every year, they took excursions up and down the coast, exploring unknown nooks, crannies and communities of the country he loved.   

Everywhere Doug went, he made friends. It is a testament to Doug’s affable, open, and warm nature that he continued to make numerous strong new friendships into his 60s and 70s. Supportive of those around him, he knew that happiness mattered and that it was important to check in with people. Adept at taking on someone else’s perspective, Doug was a perceptive friend and family member. After having two daughters, he was delighted to have three boisterous grandsons: Ben, Edward, and Ethan, whom he adored. Everyone liked to spend time with Doug, who brought humor into all his relationships, as well as a great capacity for calm appreciation of the world around him.

Throughout his life, Doug took annual trips to Canada, to fish for salmon. He began this tradition as a boy with his father, and continued it with his brother and numerous friends. He loved it up there, and it is in a sense fitting that that was where he passed away. Though his death was unexpected, his last days were as he lived: full of adventure, comradery, laughter with dear friends, and fresh air.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy McIninch; his daughter, Laura Paryl, her husband Ron, and their son, Edward; his daughter, Erica McIninch, and her husband, Charles Comey, and their sons, Ben and Ethan; his brother Richard, and his wife Joyce.

Calling hours are at Lambert Funeral Home, 1799 Elm St. Manchester, NH on Monday, April 29, from 4:00-6:00pm. A funeral service will be held at 11:00am Tuesday, April 30, at the First Congregational Church, 508 Union Street, Manchester. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests via https://www.forestsociety.org