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Richard Houser Richard Houser was born in Estherville, Iowa on December 1, 1931, son of Melvin W. and Nellie Ruth (Carter) Houser. His childhood and youth were spent in Spirit Lake where he graduated from Spirit Lake High School with the class of 1950. Richard served in the U S Navy during the Korean conflict with primary duties as a flight radioman based at Barbers Point, Hawaii from which he flew frequently to Japan, the Philippine Islands and most of the small islands in the south pacific. A “Top Secret” security clearance provided participation with a team that tested the first “H” bomb. Subsequently he worked in electronics at San Francisco International Airport, for an R & D engineering company in San Diego, CA and in the consumer finance field in Los Angeles and San Diego. Ultimately he entered the US Civil Service working for the Federal Housing Administration as national training officer in Washington D.C. and as Director of Administration in the Seattle Area Office. Upon retirement from the Federal Government, Houser returned to Iowa and married his high school sweetheart Jo (Marilynn Lighter) in 1981. Both continued to work in the Council Bluffs/Omaha area until Jo’s retirement from teaching in 1991. The couple then returned to live permanently in their home on West Okoboji spending winter months in Mesa, AZ. Richard is preceded in death by his parents and his beloved step-mother, Helen Houser. He is survived by his wife, Jo; son Rick (Dawn) of Gold Bar, WA, step-son Bob Holmes of Kirkland, WA, step-daughter Nancy (John) Elsen of Albuquerque, NM, step-son David Damewood of Omaha, NE; four grandchildren; brother, Phil (Rita) Houser of Eau Claire, WI; sisters, Doris Shelton of Mesa, AZ and Peggy Glover of Spirit Lake, IA and Sandy Bay MB, Ca; nieces and nephews. IN MEMORY SERVICES CLERGY MUSIC HONORARY BEARERS INTERMENT |