Mary Lillian "Cricket" Varner Houck was the daughter of Dora Plummer and the Reverend James M. Varner. Though she was born on Wednesday after Easter, she never fit the old saying "Wednesday's child is full of woe."
According to her brothers and sisters, she was a bright, active little girl who was always on the go. She attended many schools because of her father's profession, but graduated from Matthews High School. She attended High Point College where she played basketball despite her tiny size. She graduated in 1936. In November 1935, she secretly married William Edward Houck. It was ten years before their first child came along.
She was a home economics teacher and food service director in Burke Co., NC, for 20 years. She worked with the public school system and the NC School for the Deaf. She was active in the Pilot Club of Morganton, and a member of the Methodist Church. For a while she served as Den Mother in Cub Scouts; then became a Girl Scout leader. She also taught Sunday school briefly. She loved cooking and sewing, and let her little daughter design dresses which Cricket then made. She was dedicated to her job, but made time for her family.
After her husband "Bud" died in 1963, she sent her two children on to college and continued her work as a dietician. She retired in 1974 and fulfilled two dreams: visiting Hawaii and Yorkshire, England.
Cricket had determination tempered by a wonderful sense of humor. When she was diagnosed with lung cancer, she never asked "why me?" but accepted this as one more of life's challenges to be met. She had lost a brother and a sister to cancer and she had no illusions as to what she was in for. Yet her faith was strong and she lived her life right down to the wire. As her final summer faded, she spent her days watching hummingbirds, talking with friends and family, and laughing at the antics of the family budgie Deitmar. She was a kind and loving person who never spoke ill of anyone, and she is sorely missed by family and friends.
According to her brothers and sisters, she was a bright, active little girl who was always on the go. She attended many schools because of her father's profession, but graduated from Matthews High School. She attended High Point College where she played basketball despite her tiny size. She graduated in 1936. In November 1935, she secretly married William Edward Houck. It was ten years before their first child came along.
She was a home economics teacher and food service director in Burke Co., NC, for 20 years. She worked with the public school system and the NC School for the Deaf. She was active in the Pilot Club of Morganton, and a member of the Methodist Church. For a while she served as Den Mother in Cub Scouts; then became a Girl Scout leader. She also taught Sunday school briefly. She loved cooking and sewing, and let her little daughter design dresses which Cricket then made. She was dedicated to her job, but made time for her family.
After her husband "Bud" died in 1963, she sent her two children on to college and continued her work as a dietician. She retired in 1974 and fulfilled two dreams: visiting Hawaii and Yorkshire, England.
Cricket had determination tempered by a wonderful sense of humor. When she was diagnosed with lung cancer, she never asked "why me?" but accepted this as one more of life's challenges to be met. She had lost a brother and a sister to cancer and she had no illusions as to what she was in for. Yet her faith was strong and she lived her life right down to the wire. As her final summer faded, she spent her days watching hummingbirds, talking with friends and family, and laughing at the antics of the family budgie Deitmar. She was a kind and loving person who never spoke ill of anyone, and she is sorely missed by family and friends.
Mary Lillian "Cricket" Varner Houck was the daughter of Dora Plummer and the Reverend James M. Varner. Though she was born on Wednesday after Easter, she never fit the old saying "Wednesday's child is full of woe."
According to her brothers and sisters, she was a bright, active little girl who was always on the go. She attended many schools because of her father's profession, but graduated from Matthews High School. She attended High Point College where she played basketball despite her tiny size. She graduated in 1936. In November 1935, she secretly married William Edward Houck. It was ten years before their first child came along.
She was a home economics teacher and food service director in Burke Co., NC, for 20 years. She worked with the public school system and the NC School for the Deaf. She was active in the Pilot Club of Morganton, and a member of the Methodist Church. For a while she served as Den Mother in Cub Scouts; then became a Girl Scout leader. She also taught Sunday school briefly. She loved cooking and sewing, and let her little daughter design dresses which Cricket then made. She was dedicated to her job, but made time for her family.
After her husband "Bud" died in 1963, she sent her two children on to college and continued her work as a dietician. She retired in 1974 and fulfilled two dreams: visiting Hawaii and Yorkshire, England.
Cricket had determination tempered by a wonderful sense of humor. When she was diagnosed with lung cancer, she never asked "why me?" but accepted this as one more of life's challenges to be met. She had lost a brother and a sister to cancer and she had no illusions as to what she was in for. Yet her faith was strong and she lived her life right down to the wire. As her final summer faded, she spent her days watching hummingbirds, talking with friends and family, and laughing at the antics of the family budgie Deitmar. She was a kind and loving person who never spoke ill of anyone, and she is sorely missed by family and friends.
According to her brothers and sisters, she was a bright, active little girl who was always on the go. She attended many schools because of her father's profession, but graduated from Matthews High School. She attended High Point College where she played basketball despite her tiny size. She graduated in 1936. In November 1935, she secretly married William Edward Houck. It was ten years before their first child came along.
She was a home economics teacher and food service director in Burke Co., NC, for 20 years. She worked with the public school system and the NC School for the Deaf. She was active in the Pilot Club of Morganton, and a member of the Methodist Church. For a while she served as Den Mother in Cub Scouts; then became a Girl Scout leader. She also taught Sunday school briefly. She loved cooking and sewing, and let her little daughter design dresses which Cricket then made. She was dedicated to her job, but made time for her family.
After her husband "Bud" died in 1963, she sent her two children on to college and continued her work as a dietician. She retired in 1974 and fulfilled two dreams: visiting Hawaii and Yorkshire, England.
Cricket had determination tempered by a wonderful sense of humor. When she was diagnosed with lung cancer, she never asked "why me?" but accepted this as one more of life's challenges to be met. She had lost a brother and a sister to cancer and she had no illusions as to what she was in for. Yet her faith was strong and she lived her life right down to the wire. As her final summer faded, she spent her days watching hummingbirds, talking with friends and family, and laughing at the antics of the family budgie Deitmar. She was a kind and loving person who never spoke ill of anyone, and she is sorely missed by family and friends.
