Vera M. Arvidson

Vera Maria Arvidson, aged 92, of Newmarket, NH, passed away on 28 April 2025.

Born on 20 September 1932, in South Hampton, Long Island, New York, she was the daughter of the late Ebbe William Arvidson and Alva M. (Wiberg) Arvidson; sister of Rev. Ebbe Raymond Arvidson (wife Priscilla), and sister, Erna Hilma Johnson (husband David A. Johnson) all of whom she is preceded by in death. She is survived by her nieces, Karin Grove, and Kerstin Marshall; and her nephew Eric D. Arvidson.

Vera lived with her family on Montauk Point, New York, until they moved to a farm in East Lempster, NH in 1944. After graduating from Towle High School in Newport, NH, in 1950, she attended the Mount Auburn Hospital School of Nursing in Cambridge, MA. In 1953 she graduated from Mount Auburn and stayed an additional six months to earn her Registered Nurse certification.

She began her nursing career out west in Jordan, Montana, at a county hospital where she worked from July 1954 to April 1955. Vera then worked in Shelby, Montana from July 1955 to July 1958 before moving back east. After returning to the east coast, Vera worked in a variety of nursing positions, including a brief period at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester, NH. In 1964, her career took her to the Veterans Administration in Manchester, where she was the night nursing supervisor. During the Vietnam War, and while working at the VA, she proudly served in the New Hampshire Air National Guard from 1963-1969, and then as a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserves from 1969-1976. She retired from the VA in 1996.

Vera was baptized on 16 December 1932, in the Swedish Lutheran Church in New York City. While in her mid-20s, she joined the Lutheran church on 15 June 1958, and then became a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Manchester, NH on 7 November 1966. In recent years, she served as a member of the altar guild and as an usher for worship services. Vera would spend early morning hours gardening on the church’s property and enjoyed participating in church life, the choir, and Bible studies with her friends.

For many years Vera volunteered with the Granite State Ambassadors, working four-hour shifts assisting visitors at the information desk at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

Vera enjoyed what she called “outdoor work,” including gardening, and enjoyed a morning routine of prayer devotions, reading the newspaper to keep up with the world, and doing puzzles. She saw much of the world during her life, touring the USA and Canada, traveling around Europe as a military member, and visiting Sweden to meet her distant family members. When asked at age 81 if she had words of advice about living well, she said, “Live by the Golden Rule and have a lot of patience.”

Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH, Hampton. Memorial and burial arrangements will be made privately at a later date. To view Vera's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.