Jan Houston of Danville, Vermont, passed away peacefully at home Friday, April 25.

Janet Francis Haburay Houston was born October 26, 1932, in Chester, Connecticut. She attended the University of Connecticut, School of Nursing and graduated with distinction in 1955. In 1954 Jan married her high school sweetheart, David R. Houston, and in 1955 moved to Wisconsin, where Dave was a doctoral student. Jan taught medical nursing at Methodist Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin for five years. Returning to New England in 1961, they settled in Madison, Connecticut, where she raised their children. She renewed her art studies; the Connecticut shoreline provided inspiration for her beautiful watercolors. Jan became a master gardener and her cottage garden and perennial borders flourished under her care.

Following a year the family spent in England, Jan reentered the workforce and was employed for sixteen years as an office nurse at two medical facilities in Guilford. After retiring, Jan and Dave moved to Danville, Vermont. Continuing to paint, she exhibited her artwork at several galleries in St. Johnsbury, and recently printed a book of her watercolors and poems called Art and Rhyme, All in One’s Time.

Jan is survived by her husband Dave Houston; daughter Leslie Fredette of Goffstown, New Hampshire; daughter Linda Bishop and husband Fred of Wheelock, Vermont; son Bradley Houston and wife Claire of Exeter, New Hampshire; grandchildren Jennifer, Joshua, Daniel, Eliza, and Evelyn; and brother Keitz Haburay of Pensicola, Florida.

At Jan’s request, there will be no formal funeral service; an informal memorial is planned. Memorial contributions may be made to the Northeast Kingdom Classical Series, P.O. Box 4014, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819, Danville Historical Society, P.O. Box 274, Danville, VT 05828, and Caledonia Home Health Care and Hospice, 161 Sherman Drive, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819.