Harrisville, NH – Wendy Thorsen Pearre passed away on September 6, 2026.
Wendy was a lifelong educator, devoted wife, loving mother and grandmother, accomplished athlete, loyal friend, and, for one memorable day, a New England Patriots cheerleader.
The daughter of Robert and Barbara Thorsen, Wendy grew up in Bronxville, New York, alongside her brother, Robert Thorsen. She attended the American School in Lugano, Switzerland, and Bradford Junior College before graduating from the University of Denver, where she was a member of the women’s alpine ski team and skied alongside the US Ski Team.
Teaching children was Wendy’s great passion. Over the course of her long career as an educator, she taught at Greenwich Country Day School, Valley School of Ligonier, Rippowam Cisqua School, The Fessenden School, Out-of-Door Academy, and Seacrest Country Day School. She believed deeply in her students and was always among their greatest champions. Organized and exacting, both as a mother and as a teacher, Wendy held children to high standards because she recognized their potential and wanted them to recognize it as well.
Beneath that wonderful sense of order was an equally wonderful sense of humor. Wendy was quick with a barb or a playful quip and was always prepared to receive the teasing that inevitably came back her way. She loved to laugh, especially at herself, often until tears rolled down her cheeks. Her humor was sharp, affectionate, and an essential part of who she was.
Wendy cared deeply about her family and friends. She was always thinking of others, remembering important moments and sending handwritten notes filled with care and encouragement. She understood that friendship needed tending, much like a garden, and she tended hers faithfully.
The greatest love of Wendy’s life was her husband, Edward “Ted” Pearre. She cherished the life they shared at their home in Harrisville, New Hampshire, where they worked in their gardens and entertained friends and family overlooking Mount Monadnock.
Their dahlia gardens were especially beloved by Wendy, at least until fall arrived and every last tuber needed to be dug, carried inside, and stored for the winter.
In the end, those gardens became the source of one of Wendy’s favorite traditions. She would help load vases overflowing with dahlias into the back of the car and deliver them throughout town or carry them along on trips to Boston. The flowers went to friends, neighbors, and often to someone who simply needed a friend that day. It was a fitting expression of Wendy herself: beautiful, thoughtful, carefully arranged, and always offered with love.
In recent years, Ted and Wendy were surrounded by extraordinary care and compassion. Laurie, Beck, Becca, and Ariana, made each day better for Wendy; they became part of the family. Their devotion, patience, and love were the truest expression of compassion, and Wendy and the entire family are eternally grateful. Neighbors and friends from over the years also offered countless check-ins, kindnesses, and support, providing comfort and companionship. Their care will always be remembered with deep gratitude.
Wendy was the sister of Robert Thorsen and his wife, Sharon; the mother of Jay MacMullan and his wife, Mandy; and the mother of Chace MacMullan and his wife, Gigi. She was the proud grandmother of Brigham, Crosby, and Eloise MacMullan; Kelsey, Billy, and Mimi Clark; and great-grandmother of Winnie and JoJo Zephir Clark and Rosey Clark Fickett.
Wendy’s legacy lives on in the many children she taught and encouraged, the friends she cared for so faithfully, the caregivers and neighbors who surrounded her with love, and the family she loved above all else. She will be remembered for her exacting standards, her quick wit, her fierce belief in and joy of all children, and the carloads of dahlias carried into the lives of others.
A celebration of Wendy’s life will be held in the Spring. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Emmanuel Episcopal Church, in Dublin, NH 03444.
Click here to sign the guest book or honor their memory with flowers, donations, or other heartfelt tributes