(2016 UPDATE): As for an update on our family, we have five children - 3 boys and 2 girls.  All of them are married except for our youngest,Carrie, who will be 21 soon and she is the one who loves horses.  She is working to save her money so she can buy her own horse and has started going to Hurricane when she can to take some riding lessons.

Our oldest boy, Alan, is a lawyer and works for Strong and Hanni in SLC.  He and his wife have a 3 year old daughter and live in North Salt Lake.  Our second son, Nathan, is an Engineer for General Motors.  He and his wife and 3 year old daughter live in Sterling Heights, Michigan.  Our third son , Steven, is in his last year of DO School doing rotations right now.  He will begin his residency next July.  Steve and his wife and 10 month old son live in Erie, PA.  His wife will graduate in December with a RN Bachelor's degree.  Our fourth child and first daughter, Janice, lives with her husband in Richfield.  Her husband is the mining engineer for the Redmond Salt Mine.  Janice has just started a job with Stonehenge of Utah working as a CNA.  She is going to work on getting her RN Bachelors degree now that her husband has completed his schooling.  

I am so blessed to have such wonderful children and grandchildren and am very proud of our children. I only wish Rick were here to enjoy their accomplishments and to enjoy our grandchildren with me.

Obituary: The Spectrum, St. George, Utah, Wednesday, 16 Feb 2005: Richard (Rick) Houston 1958 ~ 2005 Richard (Rick) Dalley Houston passed away at his home in Leamington, Utah after a long and valiant battle with kidney cancer on February 14, 2005. He was born January 7, 1958 in Cedar City, Utah to Herman Jack and Norma Kay Owens Houston. He married Danette Chapman on August 31, 1984 in the Provo Temple. Together they have 5 wonderful children. Rick grew up in Cedar City, graduating from Cedar High School in 1976. He then joined the U.S. Coast Guard and served honorably for 4 years at various Coast Guard stations throughout the U.S. He served an honorable mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended SUSC in Cedar City and USU in Logan. He graduated with his BS in Industrial Technology from USU in 1985. He worked one year for ROHR Industries in Chula Vista, California, then in 1986, he started working for IPSC at the Intermountain Power Project near Delta, Utah. He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had a strong testimony of the gospel and served in many different callings over the years. He was active in the community, serving as a town council member and as Leamington Fire Chief for several years. He never felt comfortable with the attention on himself and was more interested in how others were doing. Rick earned his Private Pilot's License when he was younger and enjoyed flying and working on small planes. His greatest joy was being with his wife and children. He loved the ocean and was always fascinated by it. He lived an exemplary life, instilling lasting values in his children. He fought a very informed, courageous battle with cancer. He was very smart and took an active roll in his cancer care. He touched many lives and will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife, Danette of Leamington; his sons and daughters, Alan, (serving in the Tennessee Nashville Mission), Nathan, Steven, Janice and Carrie all of Leamington; his father and stepmother, Herman and Margaret of Cedar City; his brothers, Dennis (Susan) of Cedar City; David (Tera) of Hurricane; Ron (Liesl) of Mapleton; Mike (Annette) of Kaysville; John (Janet) of Buffalo, New York; 20 nephews and nieces. He is preceded in death by his mother, Kay Houston; grandparents, Kern and Grace Owens and Joe and Rula Houston. Funeral services will be held at 11a.m. Friday, February 18, 2005 at the Leamington LDS Church. Friends may call Thursday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the church and one hour prior to the services. Interment will be in the Delta Cemetery. Directors, Anderson Funeral Home, Nephi, UT. Originally published Wednesday, February 16, 2005

TRIBUTE to Rick Houston, by his wife, Danette Chapman Houston (2006)

Richard (Rick) Houston was born January 7, 1958 in Cedar City, Utah to Herman and Kay Houston.  He enjoyed growing up in Cedar City back when it wasn't so big.  He and his brothers have some good stories about the things they used to do when they were younger that would get them in big trouble these days.  it was a different world back then and he enjoyed the freedom it gave a young boy to explore and learn.  Rick always had a love of aviation and earned his private pilot's license before he graduated from high school. Rick attended Cedar schools from elementary thru high school.  The fall after graduation, Rick joined the Coast Guard and worked as an electronic technician for four years in the Coast Guard. He served an LDS mission in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

After Rick's mission, he attended SUSC for one semester and then transferred to Utah State University where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Industrial Technology.  Rick worked hard in college and graduated at the top of his class in just three years.  Rick enjoyed learning and over the years, took several home study courses to increase his knowledge of things that would help him in his job or just because he was interested in the subject.

Rick and I met at USU his second year there and were married on August 31, 1984 in the Provo, Temple. We lived in Layton for one year while he finished his schooling and I worked in Salt Lake.  After he graduated, we moved to Chula Vista, CA where he went to work for ROHR Industries.  He enjoyed his job there, but we wanted to live closer to our families.  So, after one year, he got a job with IPSC as a maintenance engineer at the Intermountain Power Project near Delta, Utah.  He worked there for the next 18 1/2 years.  He was a dependable, conscientious, hard working employee and got along with most anyone.

Rick and I have five wonderful children, ranging in age from 10 to 21.  Rick took a very active role in the raising of our children.  He always attended their programs and ball games, even when he wasn't feeling well.  He always took time for the kids.  He was very good at fixing, building and repairing things.  He always took good care of the family, both physically and spiritually.  He took care of everything he possibly could before his death so that we would be taken care of after his death.  He was also a leader in the community where he served as a town councilman for one term and as the volunteer fire chief for several years.

Rick fount a valaint battle with kidney cancer.  He was diagnosed with RCC the first time in 1989, at which time they removed one kidney and said he was cured.  The RCC was back and in the other kidney and lungs late 1998.  Since that time, he endured many surgeries, various treatments including a stem-cell transplant, and all sorts of scans and tests.  He researched RCC and became a very informed patient, knowing what his options were.  The many doctors who worked with him were always impressed with his ability and determination to bounce back quickly after treatments and surgeries.  He always took an interest in others and what they were involved in, quickly putting others at ease.  He truly was an inspiraton to all who knew him.  Rick was a wonderful husband and father and he is greatly missed.