Walter Houghton Jr.

Walter Ellsworth Houghton Jr., age 97, of Denver, Colorado passed away peacefully in Littleton on October 21, 2021 following a short illness.

Walter was born to Esther Gillmore Houghton and Walter E. Houghton Sr. on March 15, 1924 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His mother was a nurse in the hospital in La Crosse and contracted tuberculosis and died when Walter was a year-and-a-half old. After her tragic death, Walter lived with his father and paternal grandparents, Jane and Elmer Houghton, in La Crosse up until age 7. He attended the elementary school at the teacher’s college which is now a branch of the University of Wisconsin. When his grandfather retired from the Milwaukee railroad in 1931 the family moved to Naperville, Illinois. Walter’s father was in charge of drawings and designs in Naperville for the Kroehler Furniture Company.

Walter graduated from Naperville Central High School in the spring of 1942. That fall he started classes at the University of Illinois to study mechanical engineering and joined the Delta Phi fraternity. He also joined the ROTC in the combat engineering division. World War II had just started for the United States. The ROTC put up a notice on the bulletin board in the Armory, encouraging students to enlist in the regular army allowing them to stay a few more months in college and receive a commission. Walter opted for enlisting. He was called to active duty in March of 1943 and was sent to combat medical training in Little Rock, Arkansas, where his unit learned how to save the lives of the wounded. After this training he was selected to go to x-ray school in Springfield, Missouri, and then to Ft. Knox, Kentucky where he was assigned to a mobile army hospital and trained there. In July of 1944, his unit went by train to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey and then onto a ship. The ship joined a convoy in the Atlantic and traveled in a zig zag crossing to avoid German submarines. U.S. Navy ships were on both sides of the convoy dropping depth charges. After two weeks they arrived at Bristol, England and then onto a train at night that took them to the 140th General Hospital, where they joined other medical groups. This was located just west of Southampton on the south coast, and just across the English Channel from France. The wounded were flown across the channel to a small airport near the hospital several nights each week on C47 planes with the litters connected inside to both sides of the plane and medical personal attending. After landing the wounded were put into the fleet of ambulances and taken to the hospital. The x-ray department was just across the hallway from the surgery department and many times Walter and his colleagues took their portable x-ray machines on wheels with a screen into surgery to help the surgeons find pieces of embedded shrapnel.

Walter spent three and a half years in the army. He returned from Europe to the United States with thousands of other troops on the Queen Mary. The last base he was stationed at was in Martinsburg, West Virginia. He met the love of his life and future wife, Rosalie Moore, at the U.S.O. in Martinsburg. Walter returned to the University of Illinois in the fall of 1946 and after long distance dating, married Rosalie in June 1948. They rented an apartment in Champaign, Illinois while he completed his college education. He graduated with a degree in Architectural Engineering in the spring of 1950. Walt and Rosalie then took a few months off over the summer and camped at most of the National Parks in the western United States. At the end of that trip they arrived in Denver, Colorado and checked to see if there were any jobs for them. Rosalie got a job the first day as a first grade teacher in Denver, and Walter got a job the third day in an engineering department of a structural steel fabricator and erector.

They lived in an apartment in the Bonnie Brae neighborhood in Denver for three years. In 1953 they purchased a house in a new development in southeast Denver on South Cook Street. They lived there until 1963, when they moved into a larger house in the newly-developed Southern Hills with their two children, Gary and Peggy. They would stay in this house for the remainder of their lives. Walter was a valued member of the local community in their Southern Hills neighborhood; serving on the architectural review committee for many years. Walt and Rosalie loved golden retriever dogs and visited their neighbors daily - walking first Brandy, then Rover and Daisy. Walter continued to walk dogs and visit with neighbors for many years after Rosalie’s death in 2004. Walter and Rosalie were active members of the Prince of Peace Lutheran church, where Walter served on the Stewardship Committee, and later the Cherry Hills Community Church.

Walter spent 40 years working as a professional engineer in Denver, in the structural steel fabricating and erection industry. He joined Burkhardt Steel Company in 1950, and was proud of his significant contributions to the construction of several of the first downtown giant skyscrapers, Mile High Stadium, McNichols Arena, Currigan Hall, Public Service Company building, the University of Colorado Stadium and many other notable civic buildings.

Walter and Rosalie had many lasting friendships through their neighborhood, the church, Walter’s work and Rosalie’s many years as the director of the Denver Cooperative Preschool. They had a second home in Frisco, Colorado, and became a valuable part of the small mountain community there for many years.

Family was always very important, and treks by Amtrak train and station wagon were made every year to visit Illinois, Kentucky, Virginia and South Carolina. Walter lovingly supported his children as they grew through all their academic and recreational activities, various pursuits, college, marriages and raising grandchildren. He was always the strong, reliable foundation of the family and truly lived all of the values that he instilled in his children and grandchildren. Walter was always very proud of his family, extended family, children and grandchildren.

Walter was very honored and grateful to be included on a Rocky Mountain Honor Flight in 2016. He traveled with a group of other WWII and Korean War Veterans to Washington D.C. and visited all of the war memorials. It was an amazing trip. He also fulfilled a dream from his service in WWII - taking a trip to Long Beach, California a few years earlier and staying on the harbored Queen Mary (now converted to a hotel and WWII museum).

Walter was keenly interested in science, space, technology, aeronautics, engineering – pretty much anything! He took friends and family to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science as often as he could. It was one of his favorite places. He was passionate about visiting museums – trains, planes, art, science and industry – any and all. He remained curious, interested, and an avid reader, listener and learner to the end of his life.

As a friend and community member, Walter will long be remembered for his genuine nature, cheerful, positive attitude, his generosity and kindness.

Walter is survived by his son, Gary E. Houghton (Ann Carney) and daughter Peggy H. Faessen (John), granddaughters Lindsay Houghton and Bridget Houghton, and grandsons Christopher Faessen and Nicholas Faessen.

A slide commemoration of Walter’s life is in the works and will be available soon on this Horan & McConaty website.