Verna Marie (Keighley) Soucy, 81, of Rochester, New Hampshire, passed away on September 23, 2026, after a lengthy battle with dementia and other health issues.

Born to Marguerite (Dugas) and Charles Vernon Keighley on March 14, 1945, Verna grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, and was a 1963 graduate of Natick High School. She was the second eldest of five children. Verna was a proud majorette for the Natick High School football team and spent her younger years helping take care of her younger siblings, working in the gardens and chicken barn, waitressing after school, and taking dance classes. After high school, she married her high school boyfriend, and had "Irish twin" daughters, Janice Ann (Gallant) Martin, and Sheryl (Grace) Lynn Gallant in 1964. From there she travelled with her family around the country and overseas as a military (Army) wife but later divorced.

In 1974, Verna remarried to Edmund T. Soucy Jr, while working as a manager for CVS, and moved with her young daughters to a home they built in Northborough, Massachusetts. In 1976, she gave birth to her last daughter, Martha Mary (Soucy) Bertsimas, the day after her birthday. She always said she "stood on her head" on her birthday to avoid having the same birthday as her baby girl. The joke was on her though, because they still had to have joint birthday family parties.

Through the years, the family spent many vacations travelling to their favorite place in Nassau, Bahamas, and to Hampton Beach, NH, every summer. Her favorite pastime on vacation was walking the beaches and collecting seashells. She enjoyed spending her mornings or afternoons in Northboro hanging with her "coffee clan" at Tilz Diner. She could be found sitting at the counter, smoking a cigarette, drinking her coffee, and her laugh and smile would light up the room. Verna was a very creative soul and an extremely talented artist. Whether it was sewing, quilting, crafting, writing, or drawing, she excelled at whatever she put her mind to. She continued her parents' love of gardening by creating beautiful landscapes and vegetable gardens around their home.

After her second divorce, Verna retired to Largo, FL, and spent almost 20 years there, enjoying the sunshine and solitude with her little dogs.

In 2021, after a period of failing health, she moved to Rochester, New Hampshire, where her youngest daughter, Martha, became her full-time caregiver. Over the last five years, Verna spent her life surrounded by the love and dedicated care of Martha, her son-in-law, Nick Bertsimas, and her grandchildren, Chase Bertsimas and Amanda Bertsimas.

She was pre-deceased by her older sister, Ann Sacramone, and her baby brother, Charles V. Keighley III. Besides the family previously mentioned, she is also survived by her other sisters, Helene Prussman and Karen Lawler, her other grandchildren, Dawn Marie Boisse, Danielle (Boisse) Lomanno, and several great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the nursing staff at the Rochester Manor, especially Gina and Jackie.

Per her wishes, there will be no memorial services. Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH, Hampton. 

To view Verna's Online Tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.