- Date Of Birth: March 15, 1924
- Date Of Death: October 21, 2021
- State: Colorado
Walter Ellsworth Houghton Jr., age 97, of Denver, Colorado passed away peacefully in Littleton on October 21, 2021 following a short illness.
Walter was born to Esther Gillmore Houghton and Walter E. Houghton Sr. on March 15, 1924 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His mother was a nurse in the hospital in La Crosse and contracted tuberculosis and died when Walter was a year-and-a-half old. After her tragic death, Walter lived with his father and paternal grandparents, Jane and Elmer Houghton, in La Crosse up until age 7. He attended the elementary school at the teacher’s college which is now a branch of the University of Wisconsin. When his grandfather retired from the Milwaukee railroad in 1931 the family moved to Naperville, Illinois. Walter’s father was in charge of drawings and designs in Naperville for the Kroehler Furniture Company.
Walter graduated from Naperville Central High School in the spring of 1942. That fall he started classes at the University of Illinois to study mechanical engineering and joined the Delta Phi fraternity.
Walter spent three and a half years in the army. He returned from Europe to the United States with thousands of other troops on the Queen Mary. The last base he was stationed at was in Martinsburg, West Virginia. He met the love of his life and future wife, Rosalie Moore, at the U.S.O. in Martinsburg. Walter returned to the University of Illinois in the fall of 1946 and after long distance dating, married Rosalie in June 1948. They rented an apartment in Champaign, Illinois while he completed his college education. He graduated with a degree in Architectural Engineering in the spring of 1950. Walt and Rosalie then took a few months off over the summer and camped at most of the National Parks in the western United States. At the end of that trip they arrived in Denver, Colorado and checked to see if there were any jobs for them. Rosalie got a job the first day as a first grade teacher in Denver, and Walter got a job the third day in an engineering department of a structural steel fabricator and erector.
They lived in an apartment in the Bonnie Brae neighborhood in Denver for three years. In 1953 they purchased a house in a new development in southeast Denver on South Cook Street. They lived there until 1963, when they moved into a larger house in the newly-developed Southern Hills with their two children, Gary and Peggy. They would stay in this house for the remainder of their lives. Walter was a valued member of the local community in their Southern Hills neighborhood; serving on the architectural review committee for many years.
Walter spent 40 years working as a professional engineer in Denver, in the structural steel fabricating and erection industry.
Walter was very honored and grateful to be included on a Rocky Mountain Honor Flight in 2016. He traveled with a group of other WWII and Korean War Veterans to Washington D.C.
Walter was keenly interested in science, space, technology, aeronautics, engineering – pretty much anything! He took friends and family to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science as often as he could. It was one of his favorite places.
As a friend and community member, Walter will long be remembered for his genuine nature, cheerful, positive attitude, his generosity and kindness.
Walter is survived by his son, Gary E. Houghton (Ann Carney) and daughter Peggy H. Faessen (John), granddaughters Lindsay Houghton and Bridget Houghton, and grandsons Christopher Faessen and Nicholas Faessen.
