Dr. Alfred Carleton Hanscom

Dr. Alfred Carleton Hanscom, 95, passed away peacefully at Elizabeth House in Flat Rock on July 1, 2021, surrounded by family members. He was born in Rochester, NH, February 17, 1926, the son of the late Victor H. and Charlotte A. (Tauber) Hanscom. He spent his childhood in the town of Chatham, nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and graduated with high honors from Fryeburg Academy in Fryeburg, Maine in 1943. His college years were interrupted by his service as a naval medic in World War II, from January 1945 until early 1946, in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters. Following his return, he graduated from Atlantic Union College in South Lancaster, MA in 1949 and went on to earn a medical degree from Loma Linda University in California in 1953.

On November 22, 1951, he was married to Julianne Weaver. Over the next five decades, they lived in New Hampshire, California, Michigan, Tennessee, and North Carolina. He was board-certified in Family Practice, Anesthesiology, and Emergency Medicine, and cared for countless numbers of patients during his nearly 50 years of practice. He was a skilled diagnostician and was well known for spending whatever time was needed for each and every one of his patients. He was a prolific reader, an adventurous traveler, and a remarkable conversationalist. Even with advanced age, his intellectual curiosity never dimmed. He was a lifelong and dedicated member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and a strict vegetarian for his entire 95 years.
His wife died in 2007 after 56 years of marriage. In addition to her and his parents, he was predeceased by both of his brothers, S. Gordon Hanscom, who died in a fall in 1941, and Lieut. Argyle E. Hanscom, who was killed in World War II in 1944.

He is survived by four children, Dr. David A. Hanscom (and wife Barbara Yohai) of Oakland, CA, Alan C. Hanscom of Salem, MA, Robert B. Hanscom (and wife Diane) of Andover, MA, and Carol Hanscom Haney (and husband Thomas) of Fletcher; by nine grandchildren, Nicholas Hanscom (and wife Christina) of Park City, UT, Elisabeth Haney Henson (and husband Devin) of Old Fort, NC, Laura Haney Sutton (and husband Joshua) of Alexander, NC, Matthew Haney (and wife Tasha) of Fletcher, NC, Rachel Hanscom of Orr’s Island, ME, Michael Hanscom of Somerville, MA, Alexander Hanscom of Charlestown, MA, Amelia Hanscom of Andover, MA, and Jasmine Yohai of Oakland, CA; and by six great-grandchildren, Abbigail Sutton, Keira Sutton, John Thomas Sutton, Jameson Hanscom, Harper Hanscom, and Sawyer Haney. He had been eagerly looking forward to the birth of a seventh great-grandchild, due this coming September.

A memorial service will be held at Fletcher Park Inn on July 3, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. Burial will take place on a subsequent date in the Chatham Center Cemetery, Chatham, NH, where his wife, parents, brothers, and five generations of the Hanscom family have all been laid to rest.