BELMONT, Allegany County - Thelma A. Horton, 81, a former resident of 82 Greenwich St., entered her heaven of rest to be with her Blessed Savior on Sunday (Dec. 20, 2009) at Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville. Friends are invited to call from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 27) at the J.W. Embser Sons Funeral Home Inc. in Belmont, and from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday (Dec. 28) at the Belmont First United Methodist Church. The funeral will follow at 11 a.m. at the church with the Rev. Douglas Childress and Pastor Dick Helms presiding. Burial will be in Fairlawn Cemetery in Scio. Memorial donations are suggested to the Allegany ARC, the Amity Rescue Squad or the Gideons. She was born June 8, 1928, in Belmont, the daughter of Kenneth C. and Laconia (Thomas) Norton. She was blessed by having the love of two fathers, the other being George W. Potter, who raised her. On June 15, 1946, she married her childhood sweetheart, Frank Horton, who predeceased her on Aug. 22, 1991. Thelma attended Belmont High School and graduated from Buffalo East High School in 1945. Prior to her marriage, she was employed as a bookkeeper and assistant buyer for the wholesale/retail firm of H.L. Wagner Co. in Buffalo, and prior to her retirement, she was employed by the Allegany County Office for the Aging. Thelma and her husband were charter members of the Allegany County ARC; founded in 1961. She served the ARC for many years as secretary, treasurer, as a member of the board of directors and a member of several special committees. In 1990, she was honored with a plaque from the ARC for "Significant Years of Service." In 1970, she founded and was president of the Allegany County Association for Children with Learning Disabilities. She was instrumental in establishing the first class for emotionally handicapped children in Allegany County. Through her efforts and funding from Shriners Club, she was able to purchase the film "Why Billy Couldn't Learn" which was used as a teaching tool throughout Allegany County. Thelma was a former member and secretary of the Herbert W. Delong American Legion Auxiliary Unit 808 in Belmont, former member of the Allegheny Valley Antique Auto Club of America, a member and past secretary at the Belmont First United Methodist Church and for several years she was facilitator for the Allegany County Alzheimer's Support Group. She is survived by her beloved children, Jerry (Jan) Horton of Vandling, Pa., Kenneth (Mary) Horton of Cuba, Christopher D. Horton of Belmont, Kathleen Rulison and Tina Horton of Belmont, Vicki (John) Hall of Penn Yan and Honor (Timothy) Kinney of Tarpon Springs, Fla.; 14 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; two brothers, Wendell (Kathleen) Norton of Friendship, Allegany County, and Virgil Potter of Houghton, Allegany County; one sister, Irma (Marti) Numeracki of Belmont; and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a grandson, Christian Horton, in 1992, who spent most of his young life with her; a sister, Margaret Haynes; and a brother, Wilfred Norton.