Walter Eugene Houck

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Walter Eugene Houck

Birth
Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina, USA
Death
4 Jul 1891 (aged 2)
Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina, USA
Burial
Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina, USA Add to Map
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Little Eugene was the son of Nina Virginia Nelson and Kelley Houck. (Also spelled Houk)He was named for his Uncle Walter Ed, a seaman who lived in Santa Barbara, California, but was always called by his middle name, Eugene.

A death notice in the Lenoir Topic 22 July 1891 read:
"Died, near Morganton, on July 4th, of tumor in the eye, Walter Eugene, three years old, son of W. K. and N.V. Houck. He was a great sufferer for ten months before his death."

Eugene developed retinoblastoma and died before the age of three. His brothers and sisters often spoke of the little blind boy with his knitted cap and sweet smile who had "cat's eyes". Unfortunately, there was little that could be done for his "eye tumours" in the 19th century. His suffering ended on the 4th of July, and he was one of the first buried in the churchyard of Bethel Church, which his father had helped to establish.

Over 100 years later, some of Eugene's great-grand nieces and nephews still visit the churchyard and speak of "the blind babies" that they never got to know.

"There are moments that the words don't reach
There is suffering too terrible to name.
You hold your child as tight as you can,
and push away the unimaginable."
(From Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda)
Little Eugene was the son of Nina Virginia Nelson and Kelley Houck. (Also spelled Houk)He was named for his Uncle Walter Ed, a seaman who lived in Santa Barbara, California, but was always called by his middle name, Eugene.

A death notice in the Lenoir Topic 22 July 1891 read:
"Died, near Morganton, on July 4th, of tumor in the eye, Walter Eugene, three years old, son of W. K. and N.V. Houck. He was a great sufferer for ten months before his death."

Eugene developed retinoblastoma and died before the age of three. His brothers and sisters often spoke of the little blind boy with his knitted cap and sweet smile who had "cat's eyes". Unfortunately, there was little that could be done for his "eye tumours" in the 19th century. His suffering ended on the 4th of July, and he was one of the first buried in the churchyard of Bethel Church, which his father had helped to establish.

Over 100 years later, some of Eugene's great-grand nieces and nephews still visit the churchyard and speak of "the blind babies" that they never got to know.

"There are moments that the words don't reach
There is suffering too terrible to name.
You hold your child as tight as you can,
and push away the unimaginable."
(From Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda)

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