Sandra Desruisseaux

Sandra Lee “Sandy” Desruisseaux (nee Matott), 74, of Concord, passed away on December 16, 2024 at Pleasant View Center after a battle with pneumonia.

Sandy was born in Concord and attended Boscawen area schools. She graduated from Merrimack Valley High School in 1968 where she excelled in Latin and French. She married Kenneth Gulick of Vermont and became a mother to Kimberly and Jay. She later married Elbridge Jackson “Jack” Lapham III of Concord and became a mother to Jack and Lydia. 

Sandy was a voracious reader who devoured stacks of novels from the Concord Public Library, memorably finishing all of Stephen King’s works over a single summer. She was an avid video gamer who loved playing Nintendo with her kids. An enthusiastic lover of the arts and fueled by music throughout her life, Sandy was a frequent visitor to the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester and attended many concerts in the Concord area when not watching from home. She instilled this love of art and music to her kids who would become artists, musicians, and avid concert attendees themselves. Sandy, like the rest of her family, carried a deep love of the beach and felt at home in the waves.

A beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, Sandy cherished time spent with her family. She especially loved to play card games like Whist, Cribbage, and Rummy with family and friends, to crochet intricate doilies and blankets to give to family, to take long scenic drives around the state with her late husband George, and to study the Bible. She was a devoted member for decades of The Concord Church of Christ. 

Sandy is survived by her three children: Kimberly Thompson and husband Rob of Charlestown; Jack Lapham, wife Dawn, and sons Jax and Hunter of Oregon; and Lydia Eves and son Emmett Gress of Maryland; four sisters: Shirley Chamberlin of Loudon; Beverly Nelson and husband Doug of Canterbury; Robyn Nelson of Canterbury; and Roxanne Brannen and husband George of Florida; two brothers: Paul Matott and wife Pam of Loudon; and Ben Matott and wife Dee of Canterbury; and several nieces, nephews, in-laws, and extended family and friends. 

Sandy was predeceased by her grandparents Frank Hutchinson and Eva Mary (Bassett) Hutchinson, parents John Wilcox and Vesta Lillian (Hutchinson) Wilcox, her husband George Edouard Desruisseaux, her brother Kenneth Matott, and her son Jay Michael Gulick.

ARRANGEMENTS: A private service for family will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Sandy’s honor to The Friendly Kitchen in Concord. Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH, Boscawen. To view Sandra’s Online Tribute, send condolences, to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.