Memorial planned for Friday afternoon for Manchester stabbing victim
Sep. 8—Family and friends will gather Friday afternoon to commemorate Daniel Whitmore, the 75-year-old Manchester native stabbed to death while taking his morning walking on a popular walking trail in south Manchester.
Everyone is welcome to the service, which will run from 3 to 6 p.m. at Phaneuf Funeral Home in downtown Manchester, said Shellie Whitmore, his daughter.
"I feel this is something I only see on crime TV shows," said Whitmore, who has struggled through her emotions. She was her father's only child, and they talked often, especially because he lived alone and appreciated her telephone calls.
"It's hard," she said.
Whitmore's body was found a week ago on a popular walking trail that skirts the west side of Nutt's Pond and is adjacent to Precourt Park. He died of multiple stab wounds, and authorities have charged Raymond Moore with his murder. At the time of his murder, Moore was facing two separate charges involving weapons, but judges had ordered his pretrial release on both sets of charges.
Whitmore said police have been close-lipped about what happened as the investigation unfolds.
"Obviously, this guy was not all there or on drugs," Whitmore said. "My Dad, he's not one to run his mouth. But if someone was bothering him, confronting him, he'd say something like 'leave me alone.'"
Whitmore said her father was born and raised in the city. He attended elementary school at St. Raphael Church and graduated from West High School in 1965.
He was a Vietnam War veteran, received an associate's degree from Hesser College and worked as a computer tech for a while before taking a job with Continental Paving. He later did odd jobs.
He was a huge Boston sports fan and enjoyed listening to classic rock, rhythm and blues and Southern rock.
"He was a simple man; intelligent and very laid-back," Whitmore said.
Plans call for his cremation and eventual resting at New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen.
