In Loving Memory of David, DeDe, Luke and Ryan Houghton » David

David’s Birthday Today

John — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 21:07:35 +0000

Today is David’s birthday. He would have been 52. I was thinking about him as I drove to Mulege to maintain the house a few weeks ago. David used to drive down a lot and it was my first time making the 22 hour drive. I was thinking of him as I drove and asking the hills and mountains if they remember seeing him as he drove down. Last time he was down was probably 2011, so it was seven years ago.

I like going to the Mulege house. Being there is my way of remembering him.

David’s 51st Birthday!

John — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 21:50:00 +0000

I’ve been going through our family history lately and discovered a lot using Ancestry.com. I came across the photo to the left, which was taken when he was 4 years old. Click on it to get a larger photo.

David’s philosophy in life was to have as much fun as you can while you are here. He accomplished his mission! He had great friends and family and lived life to the fullest. Always laughing, joking, telling stories, and always getting ready to go on a new adventure.

Happy 51st Birthday David!

Love,

John

David 50

John — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 05:03:46 +0000

David,

What can I say? You would be 50 today. We’re remembering you and have been thinking about you a lot. Best wishes on your birthday!

Love,

John

David’s Birthday Today

John — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 19:54:01 +0000

David Houghton
Today is David’s birthday. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the fact that the family is gone. I miss them and think about them a lot. David was a loving brother and very protective of me. I miss him and I miss them. I remember on one summer in Italy, David got a boat for his birthday. I think it was his 9th birthday. It was a “2 person” inflatable raft. We used to love going out in it when we went on our family camping vacations. We used to go a lot to a lake just outside of Perugia, Lago Trasimeno. We made lots of friends in the campground and liked taking them out in his boat. Another time we went to Lago di Garda which is closer to the alps, colder, and more windy. There was one windy day where my dad must have promised David he could use his boat before we went home. It seems like we had a 10 mile-per-hour wind, but it was blowing steadily toward shore, so we were allowed to go out while dad watched us from the car with his binoculars, ready to jump to action if necessary. My mom and sister were in the car too. We had already packed up the campsite and made a stop by the water on our way out. It was pretty rough and not too pleasant, but David was having fun. My dad and brother had decided on some signals so my brother would know how far to go out. It was a lot of work to keep from being blown up onto the shore.
Suddenly, dad gave the signal and David quickly navigated in, deflated the boat and rapidly folded it up – while wet. Usually, we took a long time to let it dry and then carefully folded it, but this time it was hastily folded, stuffed in the trunk, and we were on our way home. When we got home, we didn’t unpack and dry the boat, so it got moldy after a few months. Luckily, a lot of it cleaned off as it hadn’t sat too long. I still remember the rubber smell of the boat when he got it. We had bought it at a store called Standa, similar to a small Kmart. We would salivate over it each time our parents went shopping there. After a while, our parents gave in and got it. When we went to the lake, sometimes we would see bigger three and four person boats, which were very big to us and lots of fun to look at, even though they were everywhere. In Perugia, we would window shop at a Scuba shop with various gear and David was very interested in this. I suppose he watched Jacques Cousteau in the states before we came to Italy, so that’s probably where it all started. Anyway, back to the boat. He was so excited to open the box on his birthday. He slowly went through all the pieces and then proceeded to blow up each compartment with a foot pump. After it was blown up, he took it out on our deck and sat in it in his bathing suit. I put my bathing suit on too and convinced him to let me sit in it with him. Little brothers didn’t always get their request granted, but this time he did. After about 15 minutes my mom came out and was a little alarmed at what we were doing and told us to put the boat away and come inside. I think the new concept of the boat, which could be dangerous in the water, made her react even though we weren’t in the water. It was fun growing up with my brother. He was a few years older, so he was always doing interesting things. I remember in Italy, he used to complain about me following him around the house. I wasn’t really conscious of it until he “caught” me doing it and then told on me. I suppose I did it because it was boring to be by myself. Other times, he didn’t mind me tagging along. The following summer, I got a similar boat of my own and we would both take them out on Lago Trasimeno. We were stronger by now and could get around pretty well, covering good distance with just a few strong strokes. I remember one evening at sunset we were rowing around and zipping back and forth really well with our powerful strokes. Another time when we had both of our boats out, we convinced some similarly aged girls to ride in our boats as we took them through a marshy area where the reeds made narrow canals that we had fun navigating through. David an I were very cautious when they were in the boats, barking back and forth to each other as we carefully coordinated and choreographed our maneuvers through the canals. The girls were a little scared, but it was fun to provide a tour for them with our formidable little boats. I remember one birthday while we were in Perugia, he wanted a cake, but didn’t want any rum in it. Actually at the time, that was really hard to find. We took a half day with my mom to go through all of the bakeries we could find, and couldn’t find a cake without rum. I remember going up to the shops, seeing a delicious looking cake, and asking the baker – they all had rum. I don’t quite remember what we ended up doing, but it was a compromise. Maybe we got him a double sized pastry of some sort. I don’t quite remember. Another sight in Perugia, I do remember seeing university students living out of their backpacks on the streets. They lived in the worst of conditions. It seems like they were confined to certain areas and it was really bad. We didn’t see that in 0ur home town of Padova. We saw lots of things, good and bad, that shaped our experiences and our identities. I suppose it made us diverse in our thinking and understanding of different cultures. Italy doesn’t seem like it’s that different from America, but when you get there and live there, the culture, way of thinking and everything is totally different. I think it’s good to be able to see situations from different perspectives. David had his own set of friends at his school. I remember feeling lucky because his school teacher was very strict, while mine was more laid back. One time David threw a birthday party and had about 10 of his classmates over to play games and things. I remember how excited they were and the high level of energy as they played. They had a lot of fun.

Best Brother

John — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 19:08:38 +0000

Dear David, Remembering you on your birthday. I will always remember the enthusiasm and positive energy you brought to my life. You cared so much about me and my family. You are the best brother anybody could ask for! Love, John

Remembering the Beloved Family

John — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 22:07:03 +0000

It’s been hard to write in the last six months. I really don’t have the words, but I felt like I needed to write something today, given that it will be a year tomorrow since they passed. I’m still processing the reality of what has happened. They were always away on so many trips all the time that it seems like they might still be on a long trip. Intellectually, I know what happened. I’m starting to come to an emotional understanding that they’re not coming back. I was just talking to someone who commented that “their lives are over” and hearing it like that makes it sink in a little more.

They really loved my daughter and I’m glad they had a chance to meet her. It will be hard as my daughter grows up and I would want to share her special moments with them. Ryan in particular loved babies and he loved my daughter. He got to feed her when she was a month old. He commented that she was “sooo cute.”

Today I edited a video they shot on May 29, 2011. It was a day trip they made to Death Valley where they climbed the sand dunes and then tumbled down. It helps me remember what fun people they were. In the video you can hear DeDe saying to David, “Hi my love!” and he responds, “Hi Sweet Pea!” You can discern the love they had for each other by the tone of their voice. You can also see David’s genuine, enthusiastic smile.

To watch the video, you need QuickTime installed. The HD version might take a while to download.

Click here to watch in high definition.
Click here to watch in standard definition.

David can be heard barking like a seal as he loved to do. Luke had found a fire hat and you could see that he was enjoying himself as he tumbled down the dunes. DeDe isn’t in the video because she was shooting, but you can hear her sweet voice. Near the end of the video you can see Ryan run up on David and Luke and it looks like David is pointing out rock formations. Ryan gave his dad a hug from behind. At the very end, DeDe comments, “You can’t go far without a geology lesson.”

Tomorrow will be a hard day. There are no events that I know of and that’s fine with me. I don’t want to plan anything because running the event keeps me from thinking of them. Tomorrow I’ll be in Santa Cruz and I want to think of them.

I think this blog site for my brother’s family should have it’s own special spot, so I’ll register a new URL and migrate the blog. Don’t worry, I’ll put a forwarding link so you can get there from here.

Thanks for letting me share. In writing this, I feel like I got in touch with my feelings and I got to relive memories of them. Please share your comments below.

A random photo of Ryan taking a bath.

A classic quote from David.

Bench Dedication, Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 11:00 AM

John — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:53:18 +0000

There will be a bench dedication for the Houghton Family Bench by the Boy Scouts on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 11:00 am. All are welcome.

The bench overlooks Cowell’s beach and is located at the parking lot near the entrance of the Wharf. For those that need an exact address, I think this will put you within 100 feet if you use Google maps: 49B Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA.

The beach is special because the family has a lot of memories from here. Day On The Beach with the Handicapped Scuba Association took place at Cowell’s Beach.

David and I used to surf there a lot when we were young teenagers. The picture to the left is David when he was about 15 and it is shot against the foundation pillars of the Dream Inn hotel at Cowell’s beach. We used to spend time sun tanning there and he would practice his maneuvers for tandem surfing.

Not far from there, David and I worked at the Boardwalk. He was a ride operator and had a lot of fun with his co-workers. They played a lot of jokes and they shot each other with whipping cream. He was a popular guy.

If anybody has any stories about the family and the significance of Cowell’s beach, please leave a comment below.

First Christmas Without Them

John — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:58:45 +0000

Sorry it has been such a long time since I’ve written. It seems that once I got out of the daily habit, I stopped writing altogether. At some point I also had to get back to my family and career because daily blog posts took a lot of time.

Left – A shot of David opening a present at Christmas. He looks three and a half years old. That’s me (John) in the background, about one and half, and my sister (Cathryn) to the right (almost five years old).

It never ceases to amaze me about what a terrible thing it was that happened over the summer. I think about them every day and find myself comparing everything to them. For example, if I come across something that I wrote before July, I want to go back and tell myself, “Hey, this was a time when you could have dropped everything and gone to see them.” I really miss them and it still hasn’t sunk in – everything that has happened.

Sometimes, I would only see them twice a year, and definitely not at Christmas time. They were always on a trip. I think resorts offer steep discounts (for the holidays) and so David would always try to take advantage of that by taking a group or taking his family. Because they were always gone at Christmas, this has been a normal holiday, although Thanksgiving was hard.

I remember many years ago, when Luke was 6 and we were having Thanksgiving at my parents house. I wanted to do Luke a favor by helping serve him food, but he got mad at me and started crying, “I wanted to do it myself!” I tried to tell him that I was just being polite by helping him – he sort of bought it, but he still wanted to get his own food. He was very independent!

Do any of you have memories of the Houghton family to share?

Houghton Family Beach Celebration and Potluck

John — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:48:07 +0000

Thanks everyone who came out to join us for the celebration and potluck on Saturday. I think everyone had fun and we certainly enjoyed gathering to share stories about the late family that we love. Above is a photo stitch of 6 pictures from my phone that I put together in Photoshop. Click and zoom with the + (plus on your keyboard) to see details (use minus on most browsers to return to normal). Special thanks to Lucia Orlando and Melody Appleton and everybody who had a hand in organizing.

There are so many people who shared so many special parts of their lives. I talked to Jeff Nordahl who went with David to La Paz in 2006. I went with David on the same trip in the late 90s and he said that one of the few things left on his “bucket list” (things you want to do before you die) was to see a Whale Shark. I didn’t know this until Saturday, but David checked off this item with Jeff and company in 2006. Jeff writes:

Dave took the photo (above) with his new camera and housing. The Whale Shark appeared out of nowhere just before we were about to descend at El Bajo to view hammerheads. He circled us for 30 minutes. He was just as curious about us as we were of him/her. This was the first whale shark Dave had witnessed, and he was really thrilled about it. Afterwards, we just floated on the surface for about 30 minutes waiting for the boat to pick us up – and we all were the happiest people on earth while we floated and reflected on what had just happened.

Incredible day, and no better people to share it with (Dave and our group)!

Thanks for sharing, Jeff. More stuff coming in future posts, including a song from the family’s friends Ron and Song Goodman.

Going Through Photos

John — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:55:58 +0000

I was just going through some photos tonight and found this one that Laura Perron took on July 1, 2011, in Bonaire. Pictured are Luke, Ryan and David Houghton, respectively. It’s hard to believe that picture was taken less than two months ago.

My wife and I decided to join friends in Tahoe and it was a refreshing break. I’m starting to get more energy back and I can concentrate better in the last few weeks. Taking the weekend off helps too. Still though, it hits me, as it did as we were driving back. It was the realization of what had happened and the overwhelming and profound sense of loss.

At the same time, they would have wanted us to be happy, so I’ve been making plans and getting energized for the future. I am optimistic and looking forward to the rest of my life. The family has taught me a lot about what’s important, and in that sense, they continue to have an impact on me.