Isabel Dolores Houghton

She will be lovingly remembered by her husband of 64 years Anthony (Tony) Houghton; children: Barbara Huther (Kevin), Nancy Stemme, Margery Paris Nichols, Mary Helfrich (Chris), and James Robert Houghton (Alix); grandchildren: David Huther (Elise), Brian Huther, Marisa Dorsett (Aaron), Ryan Stemme (Maggie), Kyle Stemme, Anthony Nichols, Isabel Helfrich, Nicole Helfrich, Anna Carroll Houghton and James Reynolds Houghton; and great-grandchildren: Ezekiel (Zeke) Dorsett, Remi Skye Dorsett and Julian Huther. She will be sorely missed by her best friend of nearly 60 years, Barbara Rankin.

Isabel is predeceased by her brothers, James Edward Woods, Jr. (Thelma) and Robert Peter Woods (Lenore); and her parents, James Edward Woods and Helen Dolores Ruffing.

Isabel was born on April 29, 1939, in Locust Gap, PA, where she spent the first few years of her life, before the family relocated to the Bronx, NY. She graduated from Saint Catherine Academy before earning a Zoology degree at Hunter College. In 1960, she married her soulmate, Anthony John Houghton, and together they started a family that would become the center of her universe.

Isabel’s dedication to her family knew no limits. She volunteered as a Girl Scout Leader and managed the schedules of her five children, including drop-offs at swimming, gymnastics, and soccer practices, seamlessly. The home she kept was a gathering spot for all the neighborhood children, where all felt welcome.

Her self-reliance and ‘roll up your sleeves” attitude was legendary. Perhaps a byproduct of her upbringing as the daughter of a coal miner turned building superintendent, Isabel could literally do and fix anything. She mowed the lawn, cleaned the pool, painted, wallpapered, made most household repairs, and tended to a houseful of pets.

In a testament to her boundless energy, Isabel returned to academia to earn a degree as a registered nurse. She even managed to work night shifts, returning home in time to prepare lunches and get her children off to school in the morning.

Summer months were spent on Nantucket. The annual pilgrimage entailed Isabel loading up the station wagon with five kids, a couple of cats, and a dog, and driving the 20-hour trek from St. Louis, Missouri to Hyannis, Massachusetts, and of course, the final leg, a 2-hour car ferry over to the family’s beloved island. The family home included a small housekeeping cottage which the family rented out on a weekly basis, and it should come as no surprise that Isabel executed those turnovers single-handedly.

Isabel was a devoted parishioner in the Catholic churches in the towns she called home. She attended mass on a daily basis, offering up prayers on behalf of the countless friends and family members dear to her.

When Tony and Isabel retired to Florida in the early 1990s, Isabel found ways to engage with her new community. She picked up golf and played in the women’s league at Ballen Isles Golf Club and Eastpointe, and she was an active board member in the Reaches Condominium, which she called home for 30 years. However, all of these pursuits were put on pause, when her grandchildren came to visit. “Nana” was never happier than when she was hosting her grandkids and she could play with them on the beaches of Singer Island and in the pool area of the condo.

Over the course of her life, Isabel had the opportunity to travel extensively. Destinations run the gamut from the capitals of Europe, the Middle East, South America, Mexico, and throughout the United States. These trips presented themselves as opportunities to expand the family circle, and would include neighbors, in-laws, and dear family friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, February 16, 2025. If you would like to be notified of the details, please send an email to [email protected]. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages those who wish to honor Isabel’s memory to make a contribution to a charity or cause of their choice.