Harriett Phyllis Anne Houston's Obituary
Harriett Phyllis Anne Houston was born on March 12, 1936, at Owens Station, Delaware, to Philip Houston and Harriet Elizabeth Dolbow Houston. She passed peacefully at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus in Dover, Delaware on February 3, 2023.
She was taught baritone horn, trumpet, French horn and piano at Greenwood Elementary School. A 1954 graduate of Milton School, she lettered in sports, music and sang in the Sussex County Chorus.
As class artist, she won yearly competitions. Her sewing creations were displayed at the FHA fairs.
Ms. Houston graduated from Weaver Airline School, Kansas City, Missouri, as a Reservation-Ticketing Agent and was hired by National Airlines located in New York, New York.
She studied 7 years with New York Evening School of the Bible, being an active member of Calvary Baptist Church on West 57th Street. She earned Certifications in Theology, Doctrine and Missions.
She was a volunteer at Moody Bible Institution, the World Fair Science Pavilion, and counseled and sang in the Billy Graham Crusade Choir.
Ms. Houston returned to Delaware in 1964, she attended Harvest Bible Institute.
She was hired by the Apollo Space Program as Administrative Assistant to the NASA Space Center on site Representative at Dover, Delaware. Her name is encased in the capsule left at the moon landing by astronaut Neil Armstrong as a contributor to the success of that mission.
Ms. Houston was chosen by DHSS as one of a five member team initiating President Lyndon Johnson's 1964 Civil Rights Act of early screening and preventative health. Meanwhile receiving on-the-job training in conversational Spanish and American sign Language.
She accepted a promotional transfer to the State Service Center as an Emergency Services Worker, then was promoted to the Division of Child Support as Client Intake Interviewer and Paternity Establishment Specialist and she sat as a state witness at Family Support Cases.
She was authorized by Governor Carper as a notary public and was instrumental in reconstructing the Delaware Child Support application forms and honored as employer of the quarter in 1995, retiring after 27 1/2 years of service.
Ms. Houston served 12 years as a local Board of Elections Judge at Greenwood, Delaware.
Ms. Houston taught the adult church school class of Bethany Church of the Brethren from 1970-2015.
She also served on the fellowship and nominations committees on the church board, and participated as a pianist and choir member.
Ms. Houston's interest lay in landscaping, traveling in the US, Europe and the Middle East, reading non-fiction, writing poetry, genealogy, and Bible discussion groups.
She was also a chef, intellectual, music lover, non-fiction aficionado, animal lover, and had pride in her Scottish ancestry.
Above all, she valued her Salvation through the Redemptive work on the cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ms. Houston was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Owens and Robert, sisters Beulah, Elizabeth, Mary, Margaret, Florence and Elsie.
A graveside service will be held 2:00 p.m, Thursday, February 9, 2023 at St. Johnstown Cemetery, Greenwood, Delaware. Services are handled by Framptom Funeral Home in Greenwood.
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