Helen Therese Burton

Peaks Island – Helen Therese Burton, 80, passed away peacefully on July 21, 2025, at Maine Medical Center in Portland with family by her side. Helen was born on September 29, 1944, in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of the late Dr. Frank and Dorothy (Mulligan) Hanrahan.  She was the loving wife of the late Thomas Burton and her second husband, the late Rev. Charles “Tod” Houghtlin, and is also predeceased by her sister, Mary Hanrahan.

Helen is survived by her children, Jessica Burton and her husband Ponch Membreño, Christine and her husband Max Cottrell, Allen and his wife Beth Burton, Vannesa Houghtlin and her husband Walter Linck, and Jamie and his wife Erika Houghtlin; grandchildren, Elisa, Gabriela, Charlie, Angus, Annie, Tommy, Betsy, John, Elodie, Sylvie, Daven, Gus, and Ella; siblings, Patricia Hanrahan and her husband Maurice Belanger, Frank and his wife Lesley Hanrahan, Katie Hanrahan, Berenice and her husband Kevin Farley, and Paul Hanrahan; and many beloved extended family members, friends and pets.

Born as the second of seven children, Helen was raised on Demington Drive in Cleveland Heights among the lively and loving Mulligan and Hanrahan family.  After graduating from Regina High School, Helen matriculated to Georgetown University’s School of Nursing at the age of 16.  Upon graduation in 1965, she began work in visiting nurse services in Washington, DC.  While in Washington, DC, she met her future husband, Tom Burton, a law student at Georgetown.  They were married on August 3, 1968, and moved to New York City.  While raising her three children in Manhattan, she continued to volunteer with visiting nurses and meals-on-wheels and discovered and developed her lifelong artistic passion for pottery.  Helen became an accomplished potter, working in her home studios to create beautiful and useful pieces that have found their way into the kitchens and lives of many friends, family and craft-show buyers.

Following the death of her first husband, Helen married Rev. Tod Houghtlin in 1986 in New York City, welcoming stepchildren Vannesa and Jamie, and moving to 465 West End Ave., where they would live until 1994.  She put her love for children, education and parenting into action, earning her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education in 1996.  She worked energetically as a parent educator for several years at Parent’s Place, helping underprivileged families navigate challenges with young children.

In the early 1990’s, Helen and Tod began spending time at what became their home and family gathering center in New Lebanon, NY, enjoying hiking, cross-country skiing, and volunteering in the community.  She presided over many family reunions, weddings, “Nana/Pop-Pop Camp” for grandchildren, and other gatherings in New Lebanon (aka “Gilead”), loving nothing more than a busy kitchen filled with family and her poodle, Flicka.

Following Tod’s death, Helen relocated to Peaks Island, Maine in 2022, becoming an engaged member of her beloved new community.  Helen jumped right into many island projects and groups, helping on committees and engaging in a variety of projects to support the island. She enjoyed the natural beauty and loved taking dips in the ocean, walks in the woods, and spending time with her new friends and family.

Helen loved life and courageously faced the ups and the downs, inspiring and supporting those around her.  She will be deeply missed.

A funeral service will be held at 11 AM on Monday, July 28, 2025, at New Brackett Church of Peaks Island, 9 Church Avenue, Portland, ME. The family also intends to welcome family and friends to a memorial service near her previous home in New Lebanon, NY at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Helen’s memory to, Peaks Island New Brackett Church, 9 Church Avenue, Peaks Island, Maine 04108, or online at https://www.newbrackettchurch.org/ways-to-donate; or to New Lebanon Library, 550 State Route 20, New Lebanon, NY 12125, or online at https://donorbox.org/monthly-donation-36