Helen A. Fenton, award-winning elementary school teacher in Berlin Township and Spanish-speaking community advocate, has died at 87

Helen A. Fenton, 87, of Haddon Heights, award-winning retired elementary schoolteacher in the Berlin Township School District, longtime Spanish-speaking community advocate in South Jersey, and tireless volunteer, died Wednesday, July 10, of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.

Born in Cali, Colombia, Mrs. Fenton grew up in Colombia and Mexico, and moved to West Berlin with her family in 1967. Her father, Leander Vourvoulias, was a Greek consul to Colombia and Mexico, and he instilled in her an appreciation for the world community, social activism, and public service.

She began teaching at John F. Kennedy Elementary School and Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School in Berlin Township in 1973, and worked with students in second and fifth grades until she retired in 2001. She was naturally creative and resourceful, and her students wrote stories, made puppets, and performed plays.

She cofounded a poetry club for second- and third-graders in the 1990s, translated year-round for Spanish-speaking students and families, and taught classes at night and on weekends for the English as a Second Language program.

“She blossomed as a teacher,” said her daughter Vanessa. Her son George said: “She loved kids and found a use for her talents.”

She was especially effective with young students, and she earned a Governor’s Award for outstanding teaching in 1992 and was named Teacher of the Year in Berlin Township. She also earned a PTA Lifetime Achievement Award and a Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Medal from the Camden County Commissioners for “selflessly contributing” to the community.

Away from the classroom, Mrs. Fenton translated for Spanish-speaking agricultural workers in South Jersey, was active in the P.E.O. international philanthropic educational organization, and worked with outreach programs through Haddonfield United Methodist Church and other local groups in immigrant and Latin American communities. From 1990 to 2010, she built houses for Habitat for Humanity and ushered Spanish-speaking families through the home-buying process.

She earned her New Jersey teaching credentials at night classes at Glassboro State College, now Rowan University. “She really enjoyed engaging with people,” her daughter Vanessa said. “And people felt seen by her. She had no pretenses, and that was disarming.”

Helen Alexandra Vourvoulias was born Sept. 5, 1936. She made memorable visits to cousins and other relatives in Chicago when she was young, and earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature at now-defunct Mexico City College.

She met George Fenton in Mexico City, and they married in 1960, and had daughters Jennifer and Vanessa, and sons George and Jason. Her husband worked for Pan Am Airways, and the family lived in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and New York before settling in West Berlin.

Later, she lived in Haddonfield, Haddon Township, and Haddon Heights. She welcomed her parents from Mexico into her home, and cared for them as they grew older. Her husband died earlier.

Mrs. Fenton enjoyed ceramics and Scrabble, gardening and Frank Sinatra’s music, and she adorned her front porch with bird feeders and wind chimes. She lived in the moment, her family said, was open to the world, and was nurturing as both a mother and teacher.

“She was known,” her family said in a tribute, “for her loving nature, understated grace, and spirited sense of humor. She had a profound impact on those around her, radiating warmth and acceptance. Her presence was a gift of calm and joy.”

In addition to her children, Mrs. Fenton is survived by a grandson and other relatives. Three brothers died earlier.

Visitation with the family is to be from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Haddonfield Friends Meeting House, 47 Friends Ave., Haddonfield, N.J. 08033. A service is to be held at 3 p.m. with a reception to follow.

Donations in her name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, Ill. 60601; and Habitat for Humanity, 322 West Lamar St., Americus, Ga. 31709.