Helen Porter Hurd

Helen Hurd was born in Paris, France, on February 9th, 1929. Her father was the composer, Quincy Porter, and her mother, Lois Brown, a violin soloist. They returned to the States when she was 3 years old. She grew up in Boston and spent summers at Squam Lake in Holderness, NH. She attended Vassar College. On December 20th, 1948, she married John Coolidge Hurd. They were happily married for over 67 years.

In 1967, Helen moved with her family to Toronto. She was a stay-at-home mother with 3 children, a dog and assorted cats. She also volunteered her time generously to the Toronto General Hospital and the Royal Ontario Museum where she was a volunteer for 35 years. She enjoyed reading, knitting, boating, and Scottish country dancing, and was a member, along with her husband, of the Royal Scottish Dance Society. She attended St. Clement’s Anglican Church for almost 50 years.

Helen is survived by her husband, the Rev. Dr. John Coolidge Hurd; her brother William Porter and his wife Lynn, her daughters, Elisabeth Porter Hurd and Louisa Hurd Collins and son, Lyman Porter Hurd and daughter-in-law, Susan Greenthal Hurd; her grandchildren, Sean Collins and his wife Adair, William Collins, Daniel Hurd and his wife, Erin, Glenn Hurd, Jonathan Hurd, and Rebecca Hurd; her great-grandchildren, Lily Hurd, Delaney Hurd, and Ainsley Collins. She was loved by her family and will be sorely missed.

Her funeral will be held at St. Clement’s Anglican Church on Wednesday May 11th at 10:30am. Interment will be next summer in the Church Yard Cemetery, Church of the Holy Spirit, 263 Highland St., Plymouth, NH, 03264, USA. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Sunnybrook Foundation.