Helen Saxe Booth, 100, of Morrison Ave., Plattsburgh, NY passed from this earth on March 16, 2024.

She was born in Plattsburgh, December 18, 1923, the daughter of Lucy Heaton Saxe and Emerson Ladd Saxe. Helen graduated from Plattsburgh High School and attended Russell Sage College in Troy, NY and Katherine Gibbs Business School in Boston, MA.

Helen married Robert Townsend Booth on August 4, 1945, soon after he returned from a German POW Camp and before the Army could send him off to the Pacific Theater. V-J Day came as they were traveling to his re-training base. That began the rest of their adventurous life together. They were married 73 years until Bob's death in 2019.

Together Helen and Bob raised and are survived by 4 children, 7 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. They are Caroline B. (David) Stafford and their children Rebecca (Andy) Rahn, Beth (Nate) Davis, Rachel (Andrew) Spiess; Marcia B. (Ron) Murdock; Matthew (Judy) Booth and their children Kaitlyn (Joe) Harshbarger, Jared (Alli Morrow) Booth, Simon (Alison) Booth; Laurie (Michael Trudo) Booth-Trudo and their son Thaddeus J. BoothTrudo; great grandchildren Erik and Amelia Davis, Callan Booth, Edward Booth.

She is also survived by brother-in-law Christopher (Kit) Booth, her niece and nephews Chris Booth, Lisa Crain, Scott and John Saxe and her incredible caregiver Francene Cornell.

A mother first, before all else, Mom played with us, laughed with us, taught us to ski, stood behind us, taught us to be independent, both worrying about and proud of our independent choices thereafter. She was always ready to help, short distance or long distance. Always a twinkle, always an incisive question when helping to problem solve. She loved attending her grandchildren's games, meets and band concerts, loved hearing about their hobbies and passions, and in the era of her iPad, eagerly viewed all the photos that came from near and far daily. She avidly and delightedly watched the development of her great grandchildren.

During WWII, prior to her marriage, Helen trained to fly, hoping to join the WASPs, worked as a draftswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers and for the Ration Board. After her marriage, she provided all the bookkeeping for the family law firm Booth and Booth and later Booth and McGill,  Attorneys at Law.

Smart, feisty, caring, and generous, Helen never saw an underdog that she did not stand up for, whether a child being bullied, people with mental health issues or the health of Lake Champlain. She put in years of work serving on local and regional boards as varied as the County Planning Board, County Community Services Board, The American Red Cross, The Vilas Home, Planned Parenthood, Beartown Ski Area (one of the founders), Kent Delord House Museum. Her passion for the natural world moved her to provide leading roles with the local chapters of the National Audubon Society, the Adirondack Mountain Club, the Lake Champlain Committee, Friends of Pt. Au Roche State Park and for years was the Clinton County Boating Safety Program Coordinator for the NY State Department of Conservation.

A highly knowledgeable bird watcher, she traveled to 4 continents and the Arctic Circle with Bob, adding to their life lists and adventure tally. Over the course of a decade, she hosted a dozen international students who found a warm welcome in her home when they first arrived at SUNY Plattsburgh or with the AFS foreign exchange student program. She relished learning about their homes from each one.

She was preceded in death by her devoted husband Bob, parents Emerson and Lucy Saxe, in-laws Robert Cyrus and Elizabeth Townsend Booth, brother William (Skip) and sister-in-law Esther Saxe, sister-in-law Sara (Sally) Booth and her nephew Emerson W. (Laddie) Saxe.

Her spark, sparkle and loving influence will never leave any of us who cherish her memory and had the good fortune to have her in our lives.

Arrangements for a memorial gathering are being made and will be announced when finalized. If you wish to honor Helen's memory with a donation please consider the North Country Chapter of the American Red Cross, 26 Emory Street, Morrisonville, NY, or the Robert T. and Helen Saxe Booth Scholarship at SUNY Plattsburgh c/o Office of Institutional Advancement or a charity of your choice.