Winnie was born on January 5, 1941 to Calvin Wright Willis and Nora Griffin Willis and raised on a farm near Pavo, Georgia. She was a loving and dedicated mother with a dynamic personality and an infectious smile and laugh.
She graduated from Clyattville High School near Lake Park and soon moved to Dallas, Texas, where she met and married Harry H. Houghton of Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1962. He nicknamed her "Peg." They moved to the Atlanta area in 1968, settling in Rex, Georgia, where she lived for the remainder of her life.
Winnie, lovingly called "Muks" by her family, worked as a cashier and lunch custodian at East Clayton Elementary School from 1975-2006, retiring after 31 years of service. She frequently enjoyed traveling (Nashville, Hawaii, California, Alaska, Las Vegas, Cancun, the Holy Lands, etc.) and attending country music shows and festivals in the north Georgia mountains. She also enjoyed dancing, especially clogging, and she was a collector of Elvis Presley memorabilia and paintings by Thomas Kinkade. She was foremost a loyal friend, outgoing and outspoken, and she never tired of helping friends and acquaintances in need. She was loved by her family and innumerable friends throughout her life.
Winnie was preceded in death by her parents and by five of seven siblings: Ralph Orin Willis, Nomie May Strickland, Martha Nell Crosby, Alonzo Ray Willis, and Ester Merle Seago.
She is survived by her husband, Harry H. Houghton (Rex); son and daughter-in-law, Stacey Allen and Debra Ruth Houghton (Rex), and son, Jeffrey Wayne Hougton (Stockbridge); brother, Calvin Wright, Jr. "C.W." (Pavo); sister, Sybil JaJaun W. Croft (Valdosta); and nephews, Ray Willis (Texas), Clarence Roy Strickland (Evans), Nelton Crosby (Valdosta), Kevin Seago (Florida), Ashley Seago (Florida), William Willis (Valdosta), Jerome Willis (Hahira), and Michael Croft (Valdosta).
Visitation for Myrtle will be held on Sunday, September 12, 2021 from 11:00AM - 12:30PM at Horis A. Ward Funeral Home - Fairview Chapel, 376 Fairview Road, Stockbridge, Georgia 30281, with a Celebration of Life beginning at 12:30PM. Entombment will be in Fairview Memorial Gardens.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.horisawardfairviewchapel.com for the Houghton family.
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