Richard Irvin Houghton

Richard Irvin Houghton, age 80, passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 24, 2023, leaving behind his beloved wife, Lorene. He was a devoted brother, husband, father, stepfather, grandfather, great grandfather, friend, veteran, and photographer. And when most people think about Richard, they think about photography (and maybe his Tesla).

Richard was born in Sinclair, Wyoming, the second of four children. He faithfully served in the U.S. Navy for 10 ½ years, followed by work as a dental supply salesman, restaurant owner, systems administrator for VA hospitals, and a photographer.

In his spare time, he taught his children and grandchildren about the world and traveled the world with Lorene. He created art in ceramic, wood, and photography.

In thinking about Richard’s life, we think about pictures, and he took thousands of pictures during his lifetime. What is great about a picture is that there is no beginning and no end.

There are rules a photographer can follow to try to guide the viewer’s eye a certain way to a specific point on the canvas, but in the end the viewer will see whatever it is they want to see when they want to see it. Memories are the same way: no beginning and no end. Just a moment taken out of time, triggered by a certain smell, taste, or sound.

And why is there so much relief in that? In looking at a photograph of a perfectly captured moment or hearing a song that brings back a fond memory?

It’s because there is this rebellious kind of beauty in these things that break the linear and ongoing flow of our day-to-day lives. That give us a break from time moving forward by allowing us to spend a small moment in the past.

There’s no easy way to summarize the life of a person who was so many different things to so many different people. How do you give a beginning and ending to a person who lived his life outside of the lines and to the absolute fullest? Who had so many more adventures and conversations left in him?

You can’t just summarize a life like that with ease.

And so, how lucky are we to be left behind, instead, with two things of Richard’s that have no beginning and no end?

Memories and Photographs.

Though we have lost someone who was so many different things to so many different people;

Someone to listen
Someone to laugh with
Someone to adventure with
Someone to share Navy stories with
Someone to teach us how to use our first camera
Someone to watch the race with
Someone to build a bookshelf with
Someone to share Game of Thrones theories with
Someone to tell us everything we could ever know about Tesla
Someone to help move in and out of college dorms and apartments
Someone to pick us up from the airport and welcome us home

Though we no longer have that father, grandpa, brother, and friend here with us…

We are lucky enough to be left with thousands upon thousands of photos that give us the greatest gift of all: a view of the world through his own eyes.

The graveside service will be held at 9:15 AM on Friday, August 18, 2023 in Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77038 with honors being rendered by the active Navy. We will be in Lane 2 at 9:00 AM by the front office and escorted to our designated pavilion.

There will be a Celebration of Life held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, August 19, 2023 at Sam Houston Memorial Funeral Home, 10129 FM 1097, Willis, TX 77318. There will be a reception to follow with refreshments.