Larry Leon Houston

Larry Leon Houston of Astoria, Oregon, passed from this life Friday March 14, 2014, to enter the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Born February 12, 1938, in Miami, Oklahoma, into the loving home of Ray and Ruth (Livingston) Houston. His boyhood days were spent in the vast open spaces of Kansas with his older sisters Marylyn and Lois, and brother Jim.

Due to his father’s health, the family moved West, living for a short time in Greenleaf, Idaho, where Larry attended Greenleaf Friends Academy. The Houston family finally settled in the Portland Metro Area of Oregon. Larry graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1955.

As a young man, Larry served in the U.S. Army as a medical corpsman, being honorably discharged in 1963. He attended George Fox College in McMinnville, OR, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree.

Larry fell in love with the beautiful Janet Armstrong, with whom he shared a common faith in Jesus Christ. They were married June 26th, 1965, and would soon after move to Astoria, Oregon. The greatest blessing of their life together would be the births of their three children, Lori, Shelley, and Craig.

Larry’s career included pastoring the Friends Church of Nehalem, owning the Western Auto Store, share holder at Astoria Plywood Co., real estate agent, tradesman in HVAC and manufacturing and driving school bus. He worked until the last year of his life.

By far his greatest legacy was his family. He is survived by his three children and their spouses, Lori and David Miller of Astoria, OR, Shelley and Edward Key of Royal City, WA, Craig and Emily Houston of Bremerton, WA; 31 grandchildren, Ryan, Emily, Rebekah, Elisabeth, Hannah, Sarah, Benjamin, Abraham, William, Justus, Grace, Rachel, Joseph, Nathanael, Anna, Joshua, Elizabeth, Hannah, Joanna, Naomi, Anna-Renee, Samuel, Daniel, Nathanael, Michael, Julia, Lydia, Abigail, Ezekiel, Selah and Tirzah; 3 great-grandchildren, Vaida, Faith, and Delilah; a sister, Lois and Richard Phillips of Portland, OR; a brother, James (Jim) Houston of Vancouver, WA; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death by his beloved parents Ray and Ruth Houston of Portland, OR, sister Marylyn Harris of Caldwell, ID, and nephew Jonathan Harris of Caldwell, ID.

Visitation is from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 19 at Caldwell’s Luce Layton Mortuary, 1165 Franklin Ave. in Astoria.

A funeral service will be held at Hilltop Church of the Nazarene in Astoria, on Thursday March 20th, 2014, at 2 p.m. His son, Pastor Craig Houston, will be officiating along with Pastor Ken Jagger.