Rita L. Pepino

Rita L. Pepino, 80, of Manchester passed away April 14, 2005 after a long, courageous battle with cancer. Born in Manchester, NH on November 13, 1924, she was the daughter of Edward and Lena (Morrison) LeClerc.

Mrs. Pepino attended and was graduated from St. Augustin Grammar School, Central High School (Class of 1942) and Hesser Business College. A veteran of World War II, Mrs. Pepino served in the Navy as a Specialist, Second Class while stationed in Washington, D.C. Her name will be engraved on the city's new World War II memorial.

On June 22, 1946, while in the service, she wed Manchester native Leo P. Pepino, Jr. at the Anacostia Naval Base in Virginia. Mr. Pepino was also serving in the Navy at that time.

Professionally, she worked for New England Telephone and Telegraph before and after joining the Navy during WWII. She went on to a career in accounting with Merrimaid Manufacturing Company, retiring after 30 years.

An avid softball player, Mrs. Pepino started the Green Arrows Softball team in Manchester. She was also a member of many bowling leagues over the years.

Mrs. Pepino was very active in many community and civic groups as well as political campaigns and causes.

Among her favorite activities was coordinating the class reunions for the Central High School class of 1942. One of her more serious endeavors involved raising money for breast cancer research and supporting the New Hampshire Breast Cancer Coalition. Because of her efforts, New Hampshire's legislature became the first in our nation to pass and present a resolution to President George W. Bush calling on him to make funding for breast cancer research a national priority. Other states have since followed suit.

Mrs. Pepino was presented with numerous awards and certificates of appreciation from many local organizations.

Known as "Mrs. Republican" to many in the political realm, Mrs. Pepino had an impressive collection of elephants and was tirelessly active in local, state, and national politics. In 1977, she helped reorganize the Manchester City Republican Committee and not only rose to serve as its Vice-Chairman and Chairman, she organized numerous successful fund raisers and other events. She also won the prestigious Bella Duperron Republican of the Year Award.

Active in many elections, she worked for an impressive number of candidates at all levels of government, including her husband's many campaigns for city and state office, the campaigns of Manchester mayors Bob Shaw and Ray Wieczorek, and Alderman-at-Large Richard Girard. She also managed the office for the Congressional campaign of Larry Brady.

On the state level, she received certificates of appreciation from the New Hampshire Republican Party for her dedicated efforts to elect Republicans at all levels of government. Former Hillsborough County Sheriff Lou Durette even named her an honorary Deputy Sheriff for her efforts aiding the county.

Nationally, she worked actively for the election of Ronald Reagan and was named a member of the "Manchester White House Staff" by former President George H.W. Bush.

Above all, Mrs. Pepino was a crusader for clean government and a passionate believer in fair elections. In 1979, she blew the whistle on voter fraud, finding more than 1,300 registered voters in Manchester's Ward 4 who had moved out of the Ward, but were still registered to vote. Several hundred of them participated illegally in the 1979 election, leading to a Superior Court challenge of the hotly contested results.

Her efforts caused her appointment to the Manchester Board of Registrars where she participated in efforts to cleanse Manchester's voter lists to prevent voter fraud. These efforts ultimately lead to the removal of Ward 5 Alderman Stephen Dolman from office as he actually resided in another neighborhood. Mrs. Pepino served for many years on the Board of Registrars, including a term as its chairman.

She also served for many years as a poll worker at the Ward 4 polling place to ensure that elections were free and fair. When not working inside the polls, she could be seen campaigning for her husband Leo on the outside.

Rita was a generous, loving and kind person. To know her was to like her. She touched the lives of countless numbers of people and had an amazing number of close and supportive friends as a result. She had a smile for everyone. She just loved life...and her many dogs, especially her Dobermans. An avid gardener, Mrs. Pepino loved to plant flowers.

She is survived by her husband of nearly 59 years, Leo P. Pepino, Jr. of Manchester; one son, Leo E. Pepino of Goffstown; 2 grandchildren also of Goffstown; three sisters, Diane Gagne of Bedford, Marcelle Ameen of Manchester, and Pauline Provencher of Manchester; two brothers, Donald LeClerc of Manchester and Richard LeClerc of Concord;

Her family was unselfishly supportive of Rita and her husband during her long battle with cancer. For that, she and her family were always grateful.

A mass of Christian burial was celebrated on Tuesday April 19, 2005 in St. Joseph Cathedral. Burial followed in St. Joseph Cemetery, Bedford.

Those wishing to send flowers are welcome to do so. Memorial donations may be sent to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Care of "Making strides for Rita", Gail Singer Memorial Building, 360 State Rt. 101, Suite 501, Bedford, NH 03110.