Mary Myrtle Payne Houze

Mary Myrtle Payne Houze, age 99, passed away on October 12, 2019, at Brookdale Wickliffe. She was born June 14, 1920, in Dallas County, Texas. She was named after her two grandmothers. Daughter of the late Lee Ola May (Glenn) Payne and James Morrison Payne. Mary graduated from Waco High School in 1938, and entered the Texas State College for Women, (now Texas Woman’s University), in Denton, TX. She majored in Music Education; her instrument was the Cello. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in 1942. Mary’s first job was teaching public school music in Austin, TX. During WWII, in 1944, she was serving as a hostess at the Officer’s Club in Austin, when she met 2nd Lt. Robert A. Houze, who was stationed at nearby Camp Swift. They were married on October 14, 1944, at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary Chapel in Austin. Mary moved to McLean, TX, to be with her mother, when her husband was deployed to Italy, with the 10th Mountain Division. Robert Alvin Houze, Jr. was born on August 3, 1945, while his father was on a troop ship on the way back to the United States. The family was reunited on September 18, 1945. After the war, Mary, Bob, and Bobby moved to Longmont, CO and then back to Austin, TX, where Bob worked as a librarian at the University of Texas. Martha Jane Houze was born on March 19, 1948, in Austin. In 1949, the family moved to College Station, TX, where Bob took a job as Director of Libraries at Texas A & M University. Mary was a stay-at-home Mom until the early 1960s when she went back to teaching. In 1965, the family moved to San Antonio, TX. Bob was the Director of Libraries at Trinity University, and Mary found a job teaching public school music, and then 4th and 5th grade. While in San Antonio, she earned her Master’s Degree in Education from Trinity University. Mary enjoyed painting, sculpture, sewing, and quilting. She was active in the Presbyterian Church, singing in the choir, serving as a Deacon and an Elder, and being a part of Presbyterian Women. After retiring, Bob and Mary moved to Fredericksburg, TX. Bob passed away on March 25, 1999. In 2002, Mary moved into the Breckenridge Retirement Community in Willoughby, OH. Mary then moved into Assisted Living at the Fairways (now Brookdale Wickliffe) in Wickliffe, OH, in March 2009. Bobby married Yolanda Jean Burkhalter on June 19, 1967, in Bryan, TX. Jane married Ronald Jack Strancar on August 3, 1969, in San Antonio, TX. Mary and Bob were blessed with six grandchildren, Rebecca Diane Houze (Peter William O’Leary), Katherine Laura Strancar Zunic (Scott Alan Zunic), Stephanie Ann Strancar Pawlaczyk, Deborah Anne Houze O’Leary (John William O’Leary), Robert Jacob Strancar, and Alan Patrick Strancar (Joyce McGovern Strancar); 12 great-grandchildren John Gabriel O’Leary, Jacob Robert Pawlaczyk, Joshua Grant Zunic, Abigail Grace Zunic, Margaret Anne O’Leary, Emily Katherine Pawlaczyk, Lucian Paul O’Leary, Alice Irene O’Leary, Zachary Scott Zunic, Isabelle Jane Zunic, Elizabeth Claire O’Leary, and Sophia Melissa Strancar. A graveside service will be held by the family at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, TX at a later date. A memorial service will be held at 3 pm on Saturday, November 16, 2019, at the First Presbyterian Church, 4785 Shankland Rd., Willoughby, OH 44094, with a reception to follow at the church. Contributions may be made, in Mrs. Houze’s memory, to First Presbyterian Church’s food ministries, 4785 Shankland Road, Willoughby, OH 44094 or online at http://fpcwilloughby.org/ or to The Elizabeth Gregory Home (Yolanda Houze is a founder), 1604 N.E. 50th Street, Seattle, WA 98105 or online at https://eghseattle.org/ Arrangements entrusted to Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Mentor, OH. Offer condolences at www.brunners.com.

Mary Myrtle Payne Houze

June 14, 1920 - October 12, 2019