Attorney Philip Joseph Ganem

WOLFEBORO - Attorney Philip Joseph Ganem, 86, passed away peacefully at his home in Wolfeboro on Dec. 4, 2015. He was the devoted husband of Shirley (Essa) Ganem for 54 years and a resident of his beloved Wolfeboro since 1958.

Born on April 15, 1929, in Manchester, Philip was the sixth of nine children and part of the large, close-knit community of Arab-Americans in the area at the time. He was a 1946 graduate of Central High School in Manchester and spent two years in the U.S. Army, where he served as part of the occupying forces in Japan following World War II. After his discharge from the Army, Philip attended the University of New Hampshire under the GI bill, earning his degree in English in 1952. He then went on to attend Harvard Law School, graduating in 1956.

After graduating from law school, Philip moved to Wolfeboro, where he worked with attorney James Kalled before opening his own practice in 1963. Philip spent his entire legal career in Carroll County, where in addition to maintaining his private practice, he served as clerk of the Carroll County Superior Court and as special justice of the Wolfeboro District Court.

Philip was the quintessential country lawyer in the best sense of the term. His practice dealt with many areas of the law, everything from probate to criminal defense, much of it pro bono. He most enjoyed his work that benefited the people of his community, such as his oversight of the Albert R. Dow Memorial Scholarship. Philip was honored by the New Hampshire Bar Association for his 50 years of legal service in 2007.

Philip served on the school board of the Governor Wentworth Regional School District for 11 years, nine of them as chairman. He also spent several years as a justice for the Wolfeboro District Court. In 1980, he was asked by then Gov. Hugh Gallen to consider appointment as a Superior Court justice. Philip ultimately declined, preferring to continue to practice on the local level to better help people one on one.

Philip devoted his life to helping his community and people in need. He loved theater, literature and music. He spent much of his spare time promoting the arts in his community and enjoying time with his family on Lake Wentworth.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley; his children, Mitchell, Lawrence and Jennifer, their spouses and his six remarkable grandchildren, Jackson, Kalie, Mae, Ella, Colin and Ruby; his brothers Wilfred and Eddie; and his sisters Louise Ashooh, Mae Nasser and Mary Ann Lajeunesse. He was predeceased by his brothers John and Donald, as well as his sister Nora Noyes. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by the many people who knew and loved him and by those he aided through his legal practice and community work..

SERVICES: A memorial for Philip will be held on Saturday, Dec. 12, at noon at The Great Hall (second floor) of the Wolfeboro Town Hall, located at 84 S. Main St. in Wolfeboro. All are welcome to attend.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Philip J. Ganem Courtroom Fund, P.O. Box 245, Ossipee, NH 03864-0245. All contributions will go to the Ossipee Historical Society, a 501 (c) (3) organization, as part of the Courthouse Revitalization Project, to honor Philip by naming the courtroom inside the historic 1916 Carroll County Courthouse in Ossipee in his honor.