NEW LONDON, N.H. — Jessie Levine, a former Sullivan County manager and New London town administrator who had to retire early four years ago because of Lou Gehrig’s disease, died on Saturday of complications of the disease. She was 50.
Sullivan County officials posted news of her death on Facebook Monday, saying, “Jessie was an accomplished leader in New Hampshire municipal government and her legacy lives on through the many projects and policies she initiated during her (more than) three years as our county manager.”
The county had named a public trail on the Unity campus in her honor shortly before her retirement. A roundabout on Route 11 in New London is also named for Levine.
A Hopkinton, N.H., native, Levine graduated from Dartmouth College and went on to earn a master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Hampshire. She became town administrator in New London in 2000 and served there for almost 11 years before working for a time as assistant town manager in Hanover and then as town manager in Bedford, N.H.
Levine, who owned a home in Springfield, N.H., became county manager in Sullivan County in 2013 and while physically active — she had run track and cross-country at Hopkinton High School and used to joke that she was “the fastest female county manager in the U.S.” — she started slurring some words about a year later.
She was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in early 2015, but continued working for another two years before stepping down in 2017.
She had been named New Hampshire county manager of the year in 2016.
“I would also be remiss not to mention the absolute compassion and support from my co-workers and the commission and delegation,” Levine told the Valley News in 2017. “My colleagues open my water bottles and Tupperware, carry my bags and books, make phone calls on my behalf, help me navigate steps and snow, and even painted my garage. My friends and neighbors shovel, take my trash, bring me food, load my wood pellets. I am beyond lucky.”
Hanover Town Manager Julia Griffin recalled working with Levine on such issues as broadband deployment and said she was an effective, strategic advocate, whether in talking before a legislative committee or in community meetings.
“Jessie was feisty and focused right up to the end,” Griffin said via email. “Short in physical stature but big in terms of the way she tackled everything, she was always all-in, employed a thoughtful and carefully managed approach, honest and straightforward, no-nonsense. She approached ALS in the very same way, living two years beyond what had been forecast including through a pandemic … Lots of us are going to miss her.”
A celebration of life service is planned for Levine on Sunday, July 18 at 11 a.m. at Musterfield Farm in Sutton, N.H., according to the Sullivan County Facebook post.
John P. Gregg can be reached at 603-727-3217 or jgregg@vnews.com.