Left – Picture of Luke in Bonaire from last month’s dive trip. Below – Article from Luke’s grandmother, Linda Anderson.
Luke David Houghton was born on July 26, 1998, from the moment I saw him I knew he was special. He was the first born son to David and DeDe and I still remember that day and the three of them together. David was delivering almost as much as DeDe, she would say “not the pain!” He was welcomed by many family and friends and was surrounded his life with them.
He did a lot in his short life, he would have turned into a teenager of 13 just missed it by 19 days. Not long ago he attended his first dance and was a little unsure of whether he wanted to go or not, but he did and had a good time. I don’t think he was really into the girls yet! (beyond his mom) But he was reaching the shy age, so maybe he wouldn’t have told us!
He was so smart and it showed at a very early age. He did not watch television like so many children do, he was well over a year old before being introduced to life in that way. His parents read to him and he went to music and dance classes. He always loved music and maybe because DeDe shared classical music through earphones on her tummy while he was forming within her. He amazed adults when he started to talk as his bright mind showed very early on and he seemed to communicate better with adults, often his thoughts were more mature than children his own age. Over time he grew into a good balance in his life and all who new him marveled at his specialness. His friends were very special and I think life-lasting.
He loved his little brother Ryan and they were most of the time the best of friends. Hands down they were always there for each other. They were very different in many ways, but oh so alike in others. They will always be together sharing as they did in this life.
He took gymnastics class when he was very young and from there he was involved in so much. (Scouting, fencing, surfing, skiing and all outdoor activities shared with family) the most recent love of SCUBA and traveling the world to far off places was just his life. He traveled the world and visited so many cultures, he played ball with Ryan and some children in Thailand, he fit in where ever he was. I laughed when DeDe shared that people in Thailand thought he was Harry Potter and kept calling out the name. He did resemble Harry with his glasses that looked so good on him. He loved to read and always loved receiving books. I try to visualize how he looked in his “Glow in the Dark” braces he just got on the last day. My sister said she could see him sitting up in his bed with a mirror looking at them in the dark.
DeDe and David believed in introducing them to life and all aspects that they believed would benefit them socially as well as physically. I loved having them here whether we were swimming or our recent gold panning in the Yuba river. On one of the visits here we all were out with my metal detector looking for treasures. All of a sudden Luke came running yelling he found money! Well, it was $50.00 bill and we laughed because he didn’t need the detector. They were always happy to see me and I always knew how special I was to them. The boys had the same gift as their parents in making everyone feel special.
When trying to share about my special Luke on his life and his almost 13 years I feel I could write forever, there was so much to tell. HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY LUKE! I love and miss you so much and I always will carry you in my heart. Thank you for sharing you life with me, I have been so blessed and loved.
Forever Loving,
Nana Linda
Thank you for sharing, Linda. You had such a special relationship with both Ryan and Luke. What a treasure. I have been thinking about all of the family all day. Our prayers and thoughts continue to be with you.
We had a nice birthday celebration of Luke last night, with pizza, salad, lemonade, and for dessert Boston Cream Cake that Nicco and his family brought with chocolate chip mint ice cream from the Polar Bear shop down the street. (the boys and I often stopped for ice cream there and that was their favorite).Everything was yummy and Nicco reminded us that Luke always ate his pizza backwards. I thought he meant for me to turn backwards…Ha!, but he meant he ate the crust end first.
I honor of Luke (and something that they laughed at when it was my birthday and I “HAD” to do it) we blew out the candles and then did a tradition (so I’ve told) of Mexico (I don’t know the spanish word but english is “BITE IT”), where you lean down while everyone in chanting “BITE IT” and take a bite out of your cake. Nicco and I did this and got frosting on our faces. I showed Nicco how I used to clean Lukes face (sometimes to make him laugh), and leaned over and to a lick of frosting on his face. I think he thought I was going to kiss him. He laughed and said he’d never experienced that before. He said that usually some one pushes your face into the cake, but fortunately we had not told the story before so Sudha didn’t know! It was a fun time and I think Luke would have laughed and be happy that we all remembered him on his special day! It was a Happy Birthday that we wish had been different and Luke would have been here with us. We all love them so much and will miss them always! Love, Nana *the code word to post this blog is SAYING (spelled backwards!)
i was looking forward to celebrating Luke’s 13th birthday with him because i know that turning 13 is a special time in someone’s life but since he could not be there physically i celebrated it with Linda. there were times that we new that Luke was there is spirit and i hope that luke enjoyed his birthday as much as we did.
I know that too soon these comments will slow down, then stop…but I want you all to know how soothing it is to hear you speak of “Our Houghtons” with such love. I love all the stories you tell! We all have so many memories to fall back on when the emptiness seems too much to bear.
Dear Linda,
Thank you so much for sharing such beautiful images of Luke. I cannot imagine how you and all of the family member are dealing with your grief. My family knew your lovely daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons through our own SCUBA pursuits, and then through having our own daughter. We were always excited to hear about all the wonderful opportunities that the boys were given. I loved hearing details from Dave and Dede about how the kids ran around naked until a few years ago, when some people said \Dont you think its time you put clothes on them?\ All the things that we learned from this family, and now from the memories that have been shared, have always been so inspiring and heartwarming. I feel such great sense of peace when I think of them, or see their shining smiles. So even now, Im feeling so inspired by the beauty that the family could create within themselves, and then spread so effortlessly to others. What a wonderful thing to have in our hearts.
Sending all our love.
Lauren Nordahl