Obituary: Robert Raymond "Bob" Houghton, He Would have Felt at Home in the 19th Century

Obituary from Conte Funeral Home.

Robert Raymond “Bob” Houghton, a lifelong resident of North Andover, Massachusetts, died at the age of 76 the morning of the 11th of June, 2015. He passed at Massachusetts General Hospital due to complications from cancer.

Bob was born at home to Raymond and Rita Houghton on the 4th of July, 1938 in an 18th century house on Berry St. Growing up with his sisters Jeannette and Nancy, and his beloved grandfather Bourassa in a rural setting, Bob looked back fondly at the simpler, more self-sufficient life of his childhood. Bob would also assert that he did not miss the outhouse, enthusiastically embracing modern plumbing. He enjoyed keeping chickens, for eggs and capons in his youth.

Bob served his country in the Air Force in the Cold War from 1959-62, including a tour at Thule Air Base, a Strategic Air Command complex in Greenland in some of the most extreme weather conditions on Earth. Fueling and staging B-47 Stratojets and B-52 Stratofortresses, Bob shared the base with polar bear and Arctic fox.

Cut from the sturdy cloth of an earlier time, Bob would have felt at home in the 19th century. His honesty, unshakable integrity, steady moral compass, kindness, strength and work ethic was a shining beacon of inspiration to all that knew him. Capable of fixing and building virtually anything, Bob defined Yankee ingenuity. As a young man in a farm community, Bob began working mowing hay fields, also starting a fledgeling salvage yard, buying vehicles for spare parts and scrap.

After many years of working for Gilbert “Gillie” Rea, where Bob was an integral member of the North Andover “townies”, he expanded the salvage business as his full-time work, from which he ultimately retired after decades of hard and dangerous labor. While working on the Rea farm in North Andover, he met Gilbert’s niece Joan Barbara Ryan, and they married on February 2, 1963.

Bob was passionate about antique automobiles, in particular Ford, an interest he shared with all three of his sons. He loved old things. Sunday drives will always be remembered, and his dedication, supreme effort and sacrifice to provide for his family was exemplary. He did so with stoic endurance.
Robert is survived by his wife of 52 years and best friend Joan Barbara (Ryan) Houghton, his sons Scott, Jason and his wife Marcy and Joshua, granddaughters Jesika Milligan, Kaytee Gagneux, and Bailey Houghton, great-granddaughter Haley Peek, his sisters Jeannette (Davison) Houghton and Nancy Houghton. His beloved cat Atticus will also miss him very much.

Found folded in his wallet was this sentiment: “We should all be grateful for all that we have been given. Sometimes this is lost in the Shuffle.”

Services were held.