Grace Marie Houston, age 96, of Wheaton, IL, passed away on Monday, March 11, 2024.
Grace was born November 29, 1927, the fourth child of Harvey and Clara Spaulding, and raised in Kenosha, WI. She lived there until her recent move to Wheaton. She and her late husband, Robert (Bob), enjoyed raising their four children in Kenosha, taking them on numerous camping trips, from Expo ‘67 in Montreal, to out west in the Rocky Mountains and to their cabin in northern Wisconsin. Grace and Bob were married for 54 years. After Bob’s retirement, they divided their time between Sun City Center, FL and Kenosha, and traveled extensively to National Parks and campgrounds in their RV.
Before her marriage, Grace was a secretary at Great Lakes Naval Training Center after graduating from Bradford High School in Kenosha in 1945, and worked at Simmons Company in Kenosha. While raising a family, she was a Sunday School teacher and superintendent, active in her children's schools and scouting activities, a member of the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association, and founder of the Sun City Center Creative Writers Club.
Grace was an accomplished story teller. She won creative writing awards, and published stories of her childhood experiences, motherhood, and life in numerous periodicals, including Reader’s Digest. Her book, Gramma Gets the Bird, was dedicated to her family, who she called “Countlessly Special.” A most treasured part of her life was enjoying time with her children and grandchildren. Her stories reflected her belief that strong family bonds can ease the hardships of growing to adulthood. Grace shared her stories and a love of reading with everyone, especially her grandchildren. In addition to writing, she enjoyed travel, reading, golfing, bowling, cards, gardening and experiencing nature. Grace also cherished many close friendships throughout her life, and was always up for an adventure, including traveling to Asia in 1976 with three friends, and stunning her grandchildren by climbing onto an upside-down vertical drop roller coaster at the age of 86.
Grace was singing songs up until the day before she passed away. Her good-natured, loving personality was an inspiration to us all. She was able to laugh off memory lapses, hug away frustration, and smile right on through the ups and downs life handed her. She always put others before herself, whether delivering Meals on Wheels and other charity work when she was younger, or recently, simply making it easier for her caregivers, and telling us we had our own family to take care of, don’t worry about her. Grace taught us to see all others as individuals worthy of our respect and consideration. Whether because of her own humble upbringing, or an inherent goodness, her kind, loving approach showed her children and grandchildren the best possible way to live.
Grace is preceded in death by her parents and husband Bob, by her sister Marion Pacetti, brothers Harvey (Bud), Glenn, Don, and Darryl Spaulding, daughters-in-law Vivian Borst and Carol Kay Houston, and grandson Craig Houston. She is survived by: her four children, Tom, Jerry (Patty), Dan (Linda Weiler), and Carol Marie (Bob Kierzyk); her grandchildren, Gina (Kevin Peeters), Jon (Claire Purvey), Jackie, Taylor, Kathryn (Alec Franks), Kyle, and Zane; and great grandson, Luke; in addition to numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren by marriage, including Ryan (Danielle), Justin (Claire), Charlie (Sarah) and Molly (Zachary) Thorvilson.
A Family Memorial Service will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to www.water.org, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at www.birds.cornell.edu, The American Cancer Society at donate.cancer.org, or a charity of your choice.