Above – The Houghton Family in Bonaire a few weeks ago (6/19/11)
David’s famous quote, “Let’s go diving.” I couldn’t believe he never got tired of diving, even when the visibility was bad and weather was cold. This warm(er) water photo is significant because it shows Ryan scuba diving (left), something the whole family was waiting for and the ability to take such a picture. Picture provided by Laura, who was on the trip. They always did what they loved and nothing held them back. I admire them for that. In my life, I’ve always done what I was supposed to but David led a life where he did that and also modeled family live around things they loved. They loved traveling, whether Vietnam, Mexico, Caribbean, Egypt, or southern Africa. They chose to cut back in other areas and always lived frugally so that they could lead their frequent scuba trips. They loved to mingle with the people of the places they visited
It’s really hard for the family to process what has happened and some of us are so shocked that we haven’t started. Thanks, everybody for sending photos and stories in the comments and what the impact they had. I want to remember them and experience their memories as much as possible. I miss them so much.
We don’t have any photos of Luke fencing, so if someone can send me these, I would love to have them. I’ve received photos of Ryan shooting bows and arrows and will post soon. If anybody has audio or video of David telling any of his stories, I would love to have these. In the tradition of the Welsh, David learned from his grandfather how to sit and tell stories. On the scuba trips that he led, he would sit around the camp fire and tell jokes and stories for a few hours at a time.
We’re working on the memorial service and will announce it here. One issue is we’re not going to get their remains for a number of days yet. There is a lot to do to tie up their affairs
Note about sending photos: Full resolution photos are appreciated, but we’ll take what you’ve got even if resolution is low. If the photos are large, you can put them in a zip file and send them via sendspace.com or yousendit.com. You can also email them to me – usually emails under 5MB will flow through the email servers, but larger need to be sent by one of the services. You can also contact me to mail them to me: john at johnhoughton dot com.
Note: To see comments or leave comments (there are over 100 now) you need to click on the title of the individual blog post, then scroll down. There are three blog posts thus far and each of them have their own comments.
We can still hear Dave’s voice enthusiastically saying “Let’s go diving!” as soon as we got settled into our hotel in Bonaire last week. As others have stated, the Houghton family packed more travel and adventures and love into their short lives than most of us will ever do in an entire lifetime. This can not be discounted. They were a perfect family role model — always positive — we never heard a negative word from any of them. Nothing anyone can say will take away the pain so many are feeling with their loss, but it is a comfort to witness how many lives they touched, ours included. We feel blessed to have spent time with them on their last dive trip. The family was simply amazing. We will carry with us forever the memory of their warm smiles.
John, my condolences to you and your family. I have to say that I’m still in shock, and have a hard time believing this actually happened. I just saw Dave at the lumber yard a couple weeks ago. They will be greatly missed. I will keep very good memories of many scuba adventures, construction projects at their house, and great life lessons. Please let me know if I can help out in any way. I’m so sorry.
Dear Edward, Marion, Kathryn, and John,
You are being held tenderly in my heart and mind as you each find your unique ways through this incomprehensible loss. May the journey be as gentle and graceful as possible….
David was blessed to have all of YOU in his life, loving and supporting him. You gave him the gift of growing-up with siblings, a lively home full of art & music, a beautiful house in a kid-friendly neighborhood, great schools and the extended UCSC academic family, living in Italy, and on and on. You nourished the seedling of all that David could become this lifetime and he thrived brilliantly with his sturdy roots. All of the goodness that you each contributed to your appropriately named \Beloved\ son and brother lives on in you.
We all first met in the early 70′s when I often played at your home after school; I lived up the street and around the corner in University Terrace with my family. David and I reconnected when we were in a geology class together at UCSC. He was my field trip buddy and brought fun and kindness to everything. Whenever I’d run into him after our college years, his exuberance was as overflowing and infectious as ever. It was a joy to see that he created such a great life and family for himself.
The world has lost a truly special expression of human glory. My heart is aching and I know I am just one of countless others who felt touched by the power and sweetness of David’s life force. I can best honor him by living with a little more gusto and warmth in everything I do.
Endless hugs to each of you.
With love,
Sarah (Getty) Mozelle
Very sorry for your loss. The Houghton family packed a lot of living into their time on Earth. Love and Mercy to you all.
John: The entire dive community has lost some great people. I had the pleasure and good fortune to have business dealings with Dave & DeDe ( I did the hydro’s on the tanks and some regulator service) for the last 15 years. We shared a lot in common, as my wife and I had a dive operation in San Jose. I had just met with De De on Tues. and she was saying how much fun they had had on their dive trip. If I can be of any help please feel free to contact me. I also remember how much I admired them for helping out the victims of the hurricane in Mexico and the effort that went into that. They will always be remembered in our sport.
It is so hard to imagine not having this vibrant family, full of love of life, in our physical world. I will miss them all and my heart, so heavy, goes out to his family one and all. I hope the gusto with which they experienced their lives will continually remind me to seek out all the joy, adventure, service and experiences available in my life. Their angels will be among my teachers.
What a small world we really live in. Yesterday, I took my car to be serviced, the man that helped me asked me what brought me to this area, and I briefly and sadly explained it was the loss of my daughter and her family a few weeks ago. He was surprised and sorry and then he continued to tell me how David had done some work for their business and was well known and thought of and so deeply missed. He was also a diver! He told me that the cabin that they were headed for was owned by Ron. (I believe the owner of Big O Tires) I seem to be finding people every where that knew at least one of them and the stories they share with me are comforting and enlightening. Guess we just have to be aware of the life that continues around us and listen to feedback that is there. Since the accident I have been staying most of the time in Santa Cruz, the sun has shined every day (which is uncommon on most of my past visits over the years to have every day sunny). This morning the ground is wet from the nights fog and the clouds are hanging in here, as I look out the window of the boys office area I wonder what to do today. There is a little gray squirrel that greets me each morning, he stops and looks at me from the rooftop then when I least expect it he jumps quite a distance to the tree branches. Sometimes he lands on a small leafed branch and I wonder how it holds him. I wonder if he sat and watched the boys as they sat at their computer. I think so! I am sure they would have noticed him and got much of the same fun watching him as I do. Today I have been invited to a birthday party for a lady I do not know, I have been invited through friends of DeDe and David, I hope that Catherine, Curtis, Claire and Arthur will be here and join us, it sounds like a day full of fun, sack races, funny outfits, good food and shared times. My world has expanded so much in the last month…all of the changes help me get through this time and the horrific loss on a day to day basis. Thank you to all of you that love, share and keep the memories flowing. Each of you are guardian angels gathering to help “us” all through this time of loss. Thank you!