Donald "Donnie" Ray Houghton

Donald "Donnie" Ray Houghton, 77, of Mulberry, died at 11:33 p.m., Saturday, April 23, 2011, at Via Christi Hospital at Pittsburg, Kan. Mr. Houghton was born Dec. 6, 1933, at Mulberry, Kan., the son of George Webster and Ethel Mae Jameson Houghton.

Donnie was a retired construction worker who lived in Mulberry most of his life. He was raised in Mulberry/Mindenmines area and graduated from Mulberry High School in 1951 where he played sports. He was a construction worker, farmer and coal miner. Donnie loved his family, hunting, fishing, gardening, working his cattle, and reading a good book. He married Mary A. Hoop on June 9, 1953, at the Mulberry Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Houghton preceded him in death April 16, 2008. He was a veteran of the Korean War, serving in the U.S. Navy.

Survivors include five daughters, Maricia Stafford and her husband, Dave, of Mulberry, Kimberly Waggener and her husband, Jerry, of Weir, Kan., Dana Shaffer and her husband, Bill, of Mulberry, Pamela Houghton of Girard, Kan., and Kristin Netherton and her husband, Jim, of Richards, Mo.; a sister, Beverly Lane of Wichita, Kan.; a brother, George Houghton of Kansas City, Kan.; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Don was preceded in death by his parents; wife; a sister, Janice Houghton McCracken; and a grandson, Donnie Stafford.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 30, at the Bedene Funeral Home at Arma with the Rev. John Hunter officiating. Burial will be at the Rosebank Cemetery at Mulberry.The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, at the Bedena Chapel, Arma, where friends may call after 11 a.m., Friday. The family will be at the home of Bill Shaffer, 410 E. Groweburg Road, Mulberry, Kan. The family suggests memorials to the Mulberry Funeral Dinner Fund or the Alzheimer's Association. Donations may be sent to or left at the Bedene Funeral Home, 517 E. Washington, Box 621, Arma, KS 66712.