Obituary for Jane B. Houston (Brown)
Jane Brown Houston passed away on April 5, 2021 at the age of 86. She was born on June 18, 1934 in Portland, Maine to Katharine Adams Brown and Earl Stanley Brown. She grew up in Kennebunkport, with three older siblings: Virginia “Ding”, Chadbourne “Chaddy”, and Priscilla.
She graduated from Kennebunk High School class of 1952 and from Westbrook College in 1954. After graduating from college she moved to Washington, DC where she worked for the CIA, on the Bulgaria desk. As might be expected of a CIA employee, she once sneaked a peak at her personnel file and saw that she was described as a “simple country girl”.
In 1956, Jane married William “Bill” Rankin Houston. They lived in Elizabeth City, NC and Sarasota, FL, before returning to Kennebunkport in 1964 to raise their three daughters, Elizabeth “Betsy”, Ellen, and Anne.
Jane worked as a title examiner in York County for over 50 years, continuing to work part-time up until the pandemic in 2020.
Over the years Jane has had many avocations including swimming, golf, going to the gym, Powder Puff Investors, raising and showing boxers and Pembroke Welsh corgis, skiing, going on cruises, and spending time up to “camp.”
Her family will remember her fondly for many things including “lovely” sandwiches, George’s Italian sandwiches, “good” jimmies, pockets, weather optimist prime, eating so much squash she turned orange, Find My Friends (she always knew where everyone was), teaching grandchildren how to play golf, her talks with Fluff, playing Banangrams and other games, and many other things.
With her passing, the last of her generation is gone from our family. We will miss her tales about Kennebunkport of her youth…swimming across the river which she wasn’t allowed to do, crank calls to her mother’s friends, walking home from school for lunch, appendicitis on VE Day, her sister Virginia taking her to NYC to see brother Chaddy ship out during WW II, the Baxter Bible, and other stories about town history.
Jane was predeceased by her parents, Katharine and Stanley Brown, her sister and brother-in-law Virginia and Maurice Littlefield, her sister and brother-in-law Priscilla and Leo Martin, her brother and sister-in-law Chadbourne and Josephine Brown, and her son-in-law, Gene Daniels.
She leaves her daughters: Betsy Jackson and husband Michael of Lyman, Ellen Daniels of Lyman, and Anne Sullivan and husband Brian of Kennebunkport; her grandchildren: Benjamin Jackson and wife Anna of Vienna, Austria, Matthew Jackson of Lyman, Chris Daniels of New York City, and Alex and Hannah Sullivan of Kennebunkport; as well as her dog Fluff, with whom she led many constructive conversations regarding socially acceptable behavior.
She was loved.
A memorial service will be held in Summer of 2021.
Donations may be made to: Saco River Wildlife Center, 238 River Road, Limington, ME 04049.
She graduated from Kennebunk High School class of 1952 and from Westbrook College in 1954. After graduating from college she moved to Washington, DC where she worked for the CIA, on the Bulgaria desk. As might be expected of a CIA employee, she once sneaked a peak at her personnel file and saw that she was described as a “simple country girl”.
In 1956, Jane married William “Bill” Rankin Houston. They lived in Elizabeth City, NC and Sarasota, FL, before returning to Kennebunkport in 1964 to raise their three daughters, Elizabeth “Betsy”, Ellen, and Anne.
Jane worked as a title examiner in York County for over 50 years, continuing to work part-time up until the pandemic in 2020.
Over the years Jane has had many avocations including swimming, golf, going to the gym, Powder Puff Investors, raising and showing boxers and Pembroke Welsh corgis, skiing, going on cruises, and spending time up to “camp.”
Her family will remember her fondly for many things including “lovely” sandwiches, George’s Italian sandwiches, “good” jimmies, pockets, weather optimist prime, eating so much squash she turned orange, Find My Friends (she always knew where everyone was), teaching grandchildren how to play golf, her talks with Fluff, playing Banangrams and other games, and many other things.
With her passing, the last of her generation is gone from our family. We will miss her tales about Kennebunkport of her youth…swimming across the river which she wasn’t allowed to do, crank calls to her mother’s friends, walking home from school for lunch, appendicitis on VE Day, her sister Virginia taking her to NYC to see brother Chaddy ship out during WW II, the Baxter Bible, and other stories about town history.
Jane was predeceased by her parents, Katharine and Stanley Brown, her sister and brother-in-law Virginia and Maurice Littlefield, her sister and brother-in-law Priscilla and Leo Martin, her brother and sister-in-law Chadbourne and Josephine Brown, and her son-in-law, Gene Daniels.
She leaves her daughters: Betsy Jackson and husband Michael of Lyman, Ellen Daniels of Lyman, and Anne Sullivan and husband Brian of Kennebunkport; her grandchildren: Benjamin Jackson and wife Anna of Vienna, Austria, Matthew Jackson of Lyman, Chris Daniels of New York City, and Alex and Hannah Sullivan of Kennebunkport; as well as her dog Fluff, with whom she led many constructive conversations regarding socially acceptable behavior.
She was loved.
A memorial service will be held in Summer of 2021.
Donations may be made to: Saco River Wildlife Center, 238 River Road, Limington, ME 04049.