Deborah Houghton shows off her sash.

By JON BAKER

LINCOLN — When John Houghton found out that his wife of 27 years, Deborah, had decided to compete for the title of Mrs. Rhode Island America, he had one question.

“I just asked, ‘Is it going to cost any money?’ and she said it wouldn’t,” John grinned while standing in the kitchen of the couple’s Wilbur Road home. “Of course, I didn’t believe her. As time goes on, my fears have risen.
“Seriously, she’s the type of person who always needs a new challenge,” he added. “Over the last 10 years, she’s been involved with a painting business, worked in cosmetics and even has her own Web site business. Like I said, she’s always looking for something new to achieve. This just happens to be the thing this year.”
Deb Houghton laughed at the statement, promising she never had pondered such a contest.
In fact, she hadn’t even known it existed until a few months ago.
She nevertheless will take the stage at Cranston’s Alpine Country Club on May 18 to “battle” 16 other candidates for the Mrs. Rhode Island crown.
And, should she win, she would gain an automatic bid to the Mrs. America Pageant, the only nationally-televised and recognized event for married women, slated for the fall at a still-unknown locale.
Houghton, who became “Mrs. Lincoln” in February without even having to participate in a competition, admitted to being rather “stressed” about the fete. She claimed she never was in the running for homecoming or prom queen while at Lincoln High (she won’t reveal her age, but noted she graduated in 1979), and the closest she ever came to anything similar occurred as a first-grader residing in Hawaii.
“I was named a ‘Hawaiian Princess,’” giggled the attractive brunet mother of two adult children (Sarah, 26, a married substitute teacher, and Matthew, 23, a sprinkler fitter for Upright Fire Protection Local 550 of Boston) and grandmother to five-year-old Lily.
“From what I understand, I’m up against some ‘heavy hitters,’ ladies who have been in pageants before, so I’m getting a little nervous. I’m working out like crazy — exercise bikes, aerobics and weight training. I’ve always worked out, but not like this, so I’ve raised the bar. I admit I’m worried about standing in front of a bunch of strangers in a bathing suit.”

The daughter of Chief Petty Officer Eugene and homemaker Natalie Flora, Houghton proclaims herself a “Navy brat,” and has lived — in order — in Boston; Pensacola, Fla.; Casablanca, Morocco; Seattle; Alaska; San Diego; Homestead, Fla.; Upper Marlboro, Md.; and Hawaii; and Thousand Oaks, Calif., all before she reached the ninth grade.
During her high school years, her family moved to Lincoln, where she met and eventually married sweetheart John at age 19, and the couple made their home in Pawtucket as they began their family.
“You know what? All that traveling helped me make friends rather easily,” she said. “It developed in me the capacity to be easy-going, roll with the punches, though that’s something I really didn’t know I had until relatively recently.
“There’s something to be said for hitting 40,” she continued. “You start to understand exactly who you are … When my kids became more independent, and because I had always been a full-time mom, I decided to pursue interior painting and expand my knowledge. I had learned a lot on my own by reading magazines.
“I had painted a couple of rooms in our house, and — when people came over — they loved it, so they asked me to paint a room or two for them. Eventually, I got so many requests, I had some business cards printed. I also started working with my sister-in-law, Susan Clarke, and we called it, ‘The Painting Ladies.’”
That wasn’t enough, so she and Susan chose to enroll in a decorative painting certification program at Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1999. In about 2003, the sisters-in-law renamed their venture “Lime Rock Design Studio.”
As her children grew and she continued classes at RISD, she found work in the cosmetic world in the mid-1990s. She worked on assorted cosmetic lines, and — about three years ago — took a job as a regional (and, not surprisingly, traveling) make-up artist for Laura Mercier of New York.
“I travel throughout New England to transform women,” she said. “Most women don’t consider themselves attractive, and are actually down on their physical appearance, so I get tremendous satisfaction out of helping them bring out their best features. It doesn’t take a lot, and I have loads of fun with it. I love the camaraderie it creates, and I’ve met a lot of terrific friends.”

Then came that fateful day in January.
“I actually was working in Hingham (doing make-up), and Mrs. Massachusetts came into the beauty shop,” she said. “The girls in the store had done a make-up lesson with her prior to that pageant, and she had won. I happened to ask her, ‘You won Mrs. Massachusetts?’ and she said, ‘Yes! It was great — a lot of fun and I met lots of friends.’ She told me it had taught her a lot.
“Then she looked at me and said, ‘You should try it,’ and I was like, ‘I don’t think so,’” she added. “As time went on, I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I ‘Googled’ for more information. Next thing I knew, I was filling out an application. I was curious, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to find out about it.
“Still, I had never heard of ‘Mrs. Rhode Island’ before.”
It didn’t take long for Melissa Corcoran — the pageant’s producer and host — to respond. That came on Jan. 17.
“When Melissa called me, I told her I didn’t think it was such a good idea,” Deb offered. “I said I wasn’t sure if I had the time, and that I had never done anything like this before, but then she asked me to meet with her for coffee at Nordstrom’s at Providence Place on Jan. 24.
“We sat down and talked, and she was very professional about it,” she added. “When I told her I wasn’t sure, she said it was the oldest-run pageant of its kind in the country, dating back to 1938 … When I came home that night, I looked at my husband and said, ‘You know what? I’m going to do this.’ What the heck? You only live once. I thought it would be a fun way to meet other women and do some networking for my businesses.”
At the pageant, she will endure an preliminary interview with judges (in a business suit); then move on to bathing suit and evening gown competitions. Those with the top 10 composite scores will be deemed semifinalists. After that, emcee Corcoran will ask each entrant a pair of questions from their biographies before judges whittle their list to five finalists.
“I’m nervous, obviously, but I’m going into this with a positive attitude,” she said. “If I’m going to go to all this trouble, I have to remain upbeat. I think everyone in my family, and my friends, are proud of me. The only one who teased me a little was my baby sister Karen. When I told her, she kind of giggled. When she realized I wasn’t joking, she said, ‘I don’t think I’d liked to be judged by all those people.’
“I think that’s provided me with some inspiration,” she added. “I believe I relate really well to people. Again, the scariest part will be standing up there in my bathing suit.”

Houghton is looking to raise $500 from sponsors, with monies going to Multiple Sclerosis of Pawtucket; and “Hug-A-Book Fund” in memory of Lincoln High sophomore Marissa Lorea, who perished in a car accident last October.
To contribute, send checks payable to Deborah Houghton, 43 Wilbur Road, Lincoln, R.I. 02865.