Helen Altman

Peterborough, NH

Helen Altman, 80, of Peterborough, NH passed away December 30, 2013. Helen was born in and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she developed a love for horses at an early age. She worked with the Council on Racial Equality (CORE) to advance desegregation of lunch counters, movie theaters and swimming pools, including the one at her high school.

Helen graduated from Mt. Holyoke College, and went on to earn her Masters in Social Work from Simmons Graduate School of Social Work in Boston, and an additional degree from the Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy in New York City. A distinguished therapist, Helen's proudest achievement was the development of a treatment system that reduced hospital recidivism for psychiatric patients by two-thirds, a system which was adopted into New York law in 1978.

Helen met her husband, English surgeon Barry Altman, at a New Year's Day party in Boston. Barry was in Boston at the invitation of the Harvard School of Medicine to train students in kidney transplantation. Helen and Barry married in Boston but settled in Dulwich, England, near Westminster Hospital. They moved back to the United States three years later, when Barry was recruited by Mt. Sinai Hospital to establish its transplantation program.

They purchased a converted barn in White Plains and over the years renovated it to exude a stately, French country style. Barry died on January 1, 1998, nearly forty years to the day they first met.

A lifelong adventurer, Helen lived in Paris during her college junior year, and developed a strong affinity for Montparnasse which she thought of as her second home. Other travel adventures included horseback riding and camping in France and Australia. In later years, she and her husband took the Cunard Line's offer to cross the Atlantic by sea, then return on the Concorde supersonic aircraft. Visits to the Arctic and Antarctica followed.

She is survived by her daughter Devorah and her sons Louis and Peter, and seven grandchildren. Helen will be missed deeply by her family and friends, particularly those who appreciated her strong will and feisty approach to life and those she encountered during it. Helen's "soul mate" in her later years was The Blue Horse, a strong-willed and feisty appaloosa with whom she had a long and loving relationship. The Blue Horse currently resides comfortably in New Boston, NH.

No services will be held at Helen's request.

Jellison Funeral Home and Cremation Services is assisting family with arrangements. To view an online obituary, please visit www.jellisonfuneralhome.com