|
Houghton
Family Line: >
Frank > Joseph > Jonathan > Joseph > Oliver > ?
Rosa
Etta Houghton (Daughter
of Frank & Martha Jane) Photo
Below
| Born: |
1912 or 1916 |
| Married: |
Henry Whitley (b.
26 Sep 1905)(d. 21 Feb 1981) |
| Produced |
3 Daughters:
Evelyn Whitley (1931)
Geraldine Whitley (1936)
Shirley Whitley
(1947) |
| Died: |
20 May 2002 |
| Buried: |
Oak Hill
Memorial Cemetery (beside her husband Henry), Booneville, AR.
|
| Narrative: |
"A Tribute to Aunt Rosie" by: Derl Houghton
(Nephew), 5/21/02
Aunt Rosie was a special link to our past and a beacon to the future.
She represented that special legacy passed on to us from our ancestry. A
special one indeed. Who was Aunt Rosie? She was many things to many
people, all being positive and uplifting. I would venture to say one
could not find a single person with anything bad to say about her.
She was a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, aunt, and
special friend. She especially loved her children, grandchildren and
great grandchildren. She never forgot her extended family such as
nephews & nieces as well. They were special to her and we loved her.
There was a special connection for me (Derl), my brother Jack and our
half-sister Ruby. I know that they share my feelings.
Aunt Rosie gives true meaning to the term "Natural". What you
saw is what you got. She loved the land, her garden, home cooking and
canning, the seasons, the animals, people and the Lord. She did not have
a dishonest or devious bone in her body. She loved and respected her
parents, brothers and sisters, and all of us kids. She had a wonderful
almost dry sense of humor and loved a good joke and to laugh. She did
not know the meaning of "Pride of Life" or the distractions it
brings. She just tried to do the right and proper thing.
I did not have the opportunity for a day-to-day or casual relationship with
her. The times that I physically saw her or communicated with her were
few and far between but mentally and spiritually, she was never far
away.
I know that she loved my father, and her brother (Richard) and suffered
a great loss as did we when he died unexpectedly when I was three. I
think she was able to keep a part of him alive in his children. I have
been told we all demonstrated many of his tendencies and mannerisms. She
kept in touch with my mother (Donnie) through the years and came to
visit us on several occasions. She may not have realized it but we found
our father in her as well. I always felt that when they had visited it
was like seeing him.
The last time I saw her (July 2001), she asked me if I remembered a pair
of shoes that I had when I was a baby beginning to walk. I told her I
did. As a matter of fact I still have them as my mother had them bronzed
while I was still a child. I will always have them. She was surprised
and pleased and told me she and Uncle Henry had bought those shoes for
me when my dad had died and I needed shoes real bad. I had not
remembered the story but was pleased that they had come from her. She
was pleased that I still had them.
She has always had a genuine concern and caring for us as we grew up,
had children, and grandchildren. I have had some personal tragedies in
my life and she was always encouraging. She was almost like a mother or
should I say a big sister in her concern and compassion for me.
Aunt Rosie is a link to our past and represents a genetic link to our
grandparents uncles, aunts, cousins etc. that have passed. I can witness
that she was part of those family members that I remember from the past.
I see the same traits in her children. For those who did not know them,
but knew her, knew them. She was the sum total of portions of all their
personalities, and therefore a window for us to see and know those who
came before us. Our elderly are Gods way of showing us where we came
from and our children are his way of showing us the future. I know her
children and and they share the same spirit that I observed in her
parents, brothers and sisters. That spirit is alive and well and has
been quietly passed to the current and future generations with dignity
and purpose.
Aunt Rosie, Thank you for being a loving and caring example in our
lives. We reluctantly bid you farewell for the moment and will miss you.
We will never forget you. Although our hearts are burdened with pain, we
quietly celebrate your victory. You are a winner in the race of life and
we can only imagine your joy today as you experience your homecoming
with the lord and those relatives and loved ones that have preceded you.
I'm thinking how I would like to have told you that when you get there
you tell your brother (our father), whom we all missed so much, that we
love him. We will see you again. Until that time may you rest in peace
and enjoy that wonderful place and tell all of our loved ones
"Hi" until we meet again. It is our prayer that God bless and
richly reward you and sustain your family and may their sorrow be
bearable and comforted.
Derl Houghton 5/21/02 |
Note: Anyone having additional knowledge of this family and events
please notify webmaster.
Rosa
(Rosie) Sitting
(L-R) Evelyn, Geraldine, & Shirley
|
