David Houston

David Emmanuel Houston, age 80, passed away peacefully in Lamoni on July 13, 2018, attended by family members.

He was born July 20, 1937, in Tama County to Carl E. Houston and Marjorie B. Hand Houston. He attended Tama High School, graduating in 1955, and went on to graduate from Graceland College. He lived in Tama county where he was a farmer until the summer of 1970. Then he moved to Lamoni, where he opened the first Iowa Realty franchise in south central Iowa and became an award-winning real estate broker.

On Sept. 19, 1981, he married Barbara Siefkas Horner of Murray. David and Barbara worked together in real estate and farming, concentrating on raising cattle. Eventually, David went to work as office manager at the Lamoni Co-op and continued in this position until retirement. After retiring from the co-op, he and Barbara split their time between their home in Lamoni and their home in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. David loved puzzles of all kinds, but in his later years he spent time each day doing crosswords and Sudoku. Above all other forms of recreation, however, David loved to golf. Most days, if the weather allowed, David could be found at the golf course with Barb or with his golfing buddies. David was a punctual, hard worker who enjoyed the simple pleasures of life like his wife Barb’s homemade pies, country music and a good pair of cowboy boots. Evenings were ended best for him with a bowl of ice cream or popcorn. His easy going personality and ready chuckle made him well-liked by friends, and a favorite grandparent of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

David was a member of the Mount Ayr Restoration Branch. In the winter, Barb and he attended Village Christian Church and David was a member of the men’s weekly Bible study there. His faith was an important part of his life and his kindness was present up to the very end. Even in his final days, he was not without his trademark dry sense of humor.

David was survived by his wife Barbara Houston of Lamoni; brother Alma Houston of Sibley, Missouri; sister Norma Price of Preston, Missouri; Janet Rae Srader, the mother of his children; his daughters, Kathy (Jerald) Davis of Clive and Kimberly (Mark) Cooper of Runnells; son Jeffrey Houston (Phaye) of Las Vegas; stepdaughter LaVonne (Paul) Hammans of Winterset; stepson Daniel Horner of Harrison, Arkansas, three grandchildren and one great-grandson. He had 10 step-grandchildren and nine step-great-grandchildren.

David is preceded in death by his parents, sister Lois Williams and stepdaughter Pamela.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, July 21, at Kale Funeral Home, 301 S. Main St., in Osceola. Interment will be in Murray Cemetery. Visitation with family present will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions will be used to purchase a commemorative bench for the Lamoni Golf Course.