Pharmacist, municipal official.
Born at Grandview on 14 November 1905, son of lumberman William John Houston and Annie Swanton (c1874-1955), he attended Grandview School followed by MacKenzie School at Dauphin. In 1930, he graduated with a degree in pharmacy from Manitoba College then worked in drug stores at Flin Flon and Sherridon before moving to Bowsman in 1932 to purchase what became Houston Drugs.
On 30 July 1935, he married Ethel May Mullin (1906-2008) at Bowsman and they later had three children: Jack Douglas Houston, Dodie Houston (wife of A. Cuperio), and Donna Houston (wife of B. Marley). In 1945, the family moved to Boissevain where he bought Gambles Rexall Drug Store and operated it until retirement in 1978. Active in municipal government, he served as a councillor (1946-1965) and Mayor (1968-1972) of Boissevain. He was a member of the St. Paul's United Church, Masons, Khartum Shriners, and Boissevain Chamber of Commerce (President).
He died at Boissevain on 1 February 1985 and was buried in the Boissevain Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Houston House (38 Fifth Avenue NW, Dauphin)
Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Notice to creditors,” Dauphin Herald and Press, 8 March 1956, page 6.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 7 February 1985, page 61.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 20 October 2023
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