Wallace "Wally" A. Houghton

He is preceded in death by his father, Henry Houghton; his mother, Kathleen O'Connor Houghton; two brothers, Thomas H. Houghton and Gerald D. Houghton; sister-in-law, Alice LaNelle Houghton; nephew, Terald D. Houghton; and nieces-in-law, Brenda J. Houghton & Pam L. Houghton.

Wally was one of the founders of Little League and Babe Ruth League and past president of Babe Ruth League in Dunedin, Florida. Wally had a lifelong love of all things Baseball.

During the last years of World War II, Wally served as a spotter in civil defense keeping watch for planes and submarines off the Gulf coast of Florida.

He graduated from Clearwater High School in 1949 and worked at two different jobs doing accounting and clerical work.

Wally moved to Austin, Texas in 1960 to enter into the Brothers of Holy Cross stationed at St. Edward's University. He worked in the Provincial office from 1961 to 1969. He left the Brothers in 1969 and joined the Austin Police Department as a Civilian Jailer from 1969 to 1988, when he retired. Wally then worked in plant operations for Saint David's Hospital for about four years.

For all those years, Wally was a member of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church and became active in service as a layman. He helped in many different ways. Wally was a very friendly greeter and usher, a member of the Church Council and worked closely with the late Father Bomar in visitation and pastoral care.

In 2004 the Lumen Gentium Awards were inaugurated by Bishop Gregory M. Aymond, Diocese of Austin. The award was intended to be a recognition of laymen in the local church who exemplified the spirit of Christ in the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium: “You are the light of the world… your light must shine in the sight of all, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:14,16)

Wally received this award as the first recipient from St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in 2004 for his tireless service & leadership.

During his retirement years, Wally was a favorite dance partner for many events. He also loved being in a bowling league and attending numerous ball games at Dell Diamond Park and at Disch-Falk Field.

Since April 2017, Wally has resided in Colorado Springs, Colorado at Broadmoor Court, a faith-based assisted living facility. Wally was a favorite with the staff there. They talked about his sense of humor, his frequent smile and the cute wink he often gave them.

Wally greatly enjoyed his time in Colorado, spending a lot of time and holidays with his niece Susan and her extended family. Wally enjoyed visits to the Garden of the Gods Park, the famous Broadmoor Hotel and many other outings.

Wally was active up until the day of his passing. The afternoon of his death he was playing balloon volleyball with other residents. Wally died later the same evening from an unexpected accident in which he fell from his wheel chair and hit his head.

Wally is survived by nephew, Danny Houghton (Georgetown TX) and niece, Susan Kelly and husband Mike (Colorado Springs CO); great-nephews, Scott Houghton (Austin, TX), Matthew Houghton (Mary) (Round Rock, TX) & Neil Houghton (Jenni) (Liberty Hill, TX); great-nieces, Christy Simpson (Steve) (Colorado Springs, CO), Sarah Chrastina (Nate) (Twisp, WA), Toni Houghton (Leander, TX), Rebekah Davidson (Jad) (Severance, CO); 9 great-great-nephews & 3 great-great-nieces. He had many life-long friends in Florida & Texas. He will be missed by all.

Visitation 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm on Thursday, November 12, 2020 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 South Congress.

Visitation 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm on Friday, November 13, 2020 at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church with Funeral Mass to begin at 2:00 pm.

Interment will follow at Assumption Cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers will be Danny Houghton, Matthew Houghton, Mike Kelly, Duane O'Neill, Scott Houghton and Mark Blount.

In lieu of flowers, please make any donations to St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church or to a charity of your choice.

The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the staff at Broadmoor Court Assisted Living for their dedicated and loving care of our uncle. We are also appreciative of the workers at Suncrest Hospice.

Currently, due to the substantial public risk, city and state government mandates that social gatherings of limited amounts may occur with strict social distancing protocol. Current COVID protocols for Travis County, guests must wear protective masks at all times while inside the funeral home facility and practice the recommended six foot social distancing. Weed-Corley-Fish South will limit our capacity to 70 guests at a service while enforcing all distancing and hygiene standards. We appreciate your understanding.