Barbara Bray Houghton

Barbara Bray Houghton

Barbara Bray Houghton was a loving mother and grandmother who passed away on June 25, 2024. She had lived with Alzheimer’s disease for six years before dying at the age of 91 in Seattle, Washington. Barbara is survived by her daughter, Diana Houghton Henneuse, son-in-law, Kent Henneuse, and granddaughter, Kathleen Nina Henneuse.

Born on July 25, 1932, in Oakland, California, to George and Helen Bray, Barbara was raised in Berkeley and Piedmont, Calif. She graduated from Berkeley High School in 1950 and from UCLA in 1954 with a BA in Interior Design and Art History. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and proudly participated on the UCLA Rally Committee at football games, where students would execute imaginative card stunts. She cheered for the UCLA Bruins the rest of her life.

After graduation, Barbara worked as a color consultant and interior designer in Los Angeles before moving to New York City. She worked as an executive secretary for U.S. Steel Corporation in Manhattan and lived in Greenwich Village. She met her husband, Charles Houghton, and they married in 1959 and moved to Philadelphia, where their daughter, Diana, was born.

Following a divorce in 1969, Barbara moved with her daughter to Boca Raton, Florida, where she worked for Arvida Corporation as an executive secretary. In 1975, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she worked for Marsh McLennan as an executive secretary. She eventually pursued her passion for real estate, and she became a residential realtor for Coldwell Banker and then Harry Norman Realtors. She left Atlanta in 1994 and moved to Chicago to be near her daughter, where she worked for Continental Bank and before becoming a paralegal in her 60s.

In her late 60s, Barbara returned to her beloved home state of California with her daughter. She lived in Belmont and San Jose, and was happy in the beautiful Bay Area, where she loved to go on long drives by the coast. Some of her favorite destinations included San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. Her fondest memories were from spending time at her family’s cabin at Tahoe during her youth. She learned how to snow ski at Tahoe, and spent summers there during high school and college.

In her 70s, she moved to Washington state to be near her daughter’s family. She lived in Sequim and Bellevue, before moving into an assisted living facility in Kirkland. Her final years were spent at the Kline Galland Home in Seattle, where she received extraordinary care from a dedicated and loving nursing team.

Barbara was always committed to learning, discovery and research throughout her life. She was curious and wasn’t afraid to try and learn new things. She enjoyed traveling, visiting art museums and historical places, and road trips. She loved spending time with her family and watching her granddaughter grow up. She was grateful to be part of many special family celebrations. She lived in nine states across America during her lifetime.

She had a keen interest in history and genealogy. When she retired, she conducted research to learn about all sides of her family who came to America in the 1800s from the Netherlands, England and Ireland. Her ancestors settled in Nova Scotia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah and eventually California. She loved to read the daily newspaper, books and magazines. She was a dedicated alumna in Kappa Kappa Gamma and was recognized with a 50-year membership pin.

In lieu of flowers, please make any donations in Barbara’s memory to Kline Galland (www.klinegalland.org) or Kappa Kappa Gamma (www.kappakappagamma.org/give-back). Barbara will be laid to rest at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.