Ruthena B. "fina" (butler) Howard

Hampstead, NH: Ruthena B. "Fina" (Butler) Howard, 76, longtime resident of Hampstead, died Friday evening, September 19, 2014 at Rockingham County Nursing Home in Brentwood, NH.

Born in Haverhill, daughter of the late Perley and Muriel (Smith) Butler, she attended Haverhill schools until moving to Hampstead in 1953. A member of the Hampstead High School Class of 1956, she met her high school sweetheart, Dean C. Howard, and they were married at the Hampstead Congregational Church in 1958. During the course of their marriage and because her husband was a building contractor, they lived in fourteen different homes before settling into her last residence on Emerson Avenue.

Mrs. Howard had a lifelong interest in antiques and ran an antique business from concession stalls in local antique shops for over forty years. She travelled extensively collecting antiques for her business and especially loved the numerous trips she and her husband took to England.

A longtime member of the Hampstead Congregational Church, she was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother and was a former member of the Young Mothers Club of Hampstead, and the Hampstead Ski Club. She was also a member of the Hampstead Historical Society and served on the Historic District Commission of Hampstead. She and her husband represented the town of Hampstead, NH in an official visit to Hampstead, England during the town's 225th anniversary celebration in 1974.

Mrs. Howard also had an interested in interior design and used her talents to help design and decorate following the renovation of the old high school to meet its new purpose as the Town of Hampstead Office Building.

She is survived by her husband of fifty-six years, Dean C. Howard, a daughter and son-in-law, Bonnie J. and Robert Knox of Hampstead, three sons and daughters-in-law, Eric D. and Elizabeth Howard of Chester, Christopher L. and Lorrie Howard of Hampstead, Dean C., Jr. "DJ" and Jennifer Howard of Hampstead, a brother, Robert Butler of Avondale, PA, ten grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by two brothers, Michael and Ozzie Butler.

Relatives and friends are invited to Mrs. Howard's Life Celebration to be held Tuesday, September 23, 2014 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home, A Life Celebration Home, 116 Main Street, Route 121A, Plaistow, NH. Her funeral service will take place on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 at 11 a.m. at the Hampstead Congregational Church, Main Street, Hampstead. Donations in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 480 Pleasant Street, Watertown, MA 02472. To leave a message of condolence for the family please visit our website, www.brooksidechapelfh.com.