Leland Houser

Paul "Leland" Houser, age 82 of Blountville, Tennessee, entered the presence of the Lord on December 22, 2012. He is survived by his children; Mike and Kathy Houser, Palm Harbor, FL, and Michele and David Wollert, Ooltewah, TN. One granddaughter, Malynda Wollert. Leeland was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Ellen Edwards Houser and his parents, Anna Belle and Pete Houser. He was a lifelong resident of Blountville until the past four months when he lived in Ooltewah near his daughter.

An ardent supporter of education, Leland was his class president at Blountville High School. He went to college at East Tennessee State University, where he studied education. He was the first person in his family to graduate from college. He taught drafting and architectural drawing for 30 years in Sullivan County at Blountville High School and later at Sullivan Central High School.

Leland had always been very active in church and had a very influential trip in 1963 in which he toured the Holy Land and several European countries. Leland felt a call to ministry and was ordained by Blountville Christian Church. He served Carter Christian Church in Elizabethton, Lynnwood Church of Christ in Johnson City and Bunker Hill Christian Church in Bluff City as a bi-vocational minister while also teaching school.

Through the years, Leland always had a heart for the people of the Holy Land were not Christians and he founded and worked faithfully with the Christian Holy-land Foundation to help train and support people called to the ministry in Jerusalem and Ramallah. In addition, he and Ellen took many people on trips to the Middle East and other locations with their company, Friendship Tours.

Leland retired from being a school teacher and full-time preaching minister but continued to serve as a part-time pastoral minister at Blountville Christian Church for many years. Leland never forgot to visit people who were sick and shut-in, and many were blessed by his caring presence. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Pallbearers will be Russell Baker, Ken Start, Bill Carr, Chris Edwards, Randy Belcher, and Tom Peters. Honorary pallbearers will be Rick Malone, David Jones, David Smith, Paul ebhardt, Dr. Frederick Martin, and Wayne Feathers. Services will be held on Thursday, December 27 at Blountville Christian Church. Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with the funeral program immediately following. Dwight Shaffer will be officiating, with additional support from John Samples and Dennis Houser. Graveside services will be held at 1;30 p.m. on Friday, December 28, 2012 at East Lawn Memorial Park, Kingsport, Tennessee. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be forwarded through Blountville Christian Church to the Leland and Ellen Houser Scholarship Fund at Milligan College and or the Christian Holyland Foundation.

East Lawn Funeral Home and Memorial Park is honored to serve the Leland Houser family.