558 N. Main St., Prineville, OR 97754 | (541) 447-6205
Prineville resident Cora G. Houston, passed away on Jan. 2, 2012 at her home and she was 103 years of age.
Cora was born Jan 1, 1909, in Arco, Idaho to William and Bessie (Harkey) Gittings.
At her request, there will be no public services.
In 1911, the family moved west to Saginaw, Ore., a small town near Cottage Grove, Ore. where they did what they could to make a living in the Willamette Valley.
In 1914, the Gittings family traveled over the old McKenzie Pass by team and wagon and stayed in the Redmond area with relatives until they figured out their next step. Cora’s father worked at various ranches in the area.
In the spring of 1917, they took the next step by moving to a homestead in the “Shotgun District,” eight miles beyond Post, up against the Maury Mountains. Cora’s mother wouldn’t let her go to Shotgun (school), and the family moved back to Redmond that same year so the children could go to school.
The unthinkable happened that fall when Cora’s father died of pneumonia, and her mother became a 38-year-old widow with six kids. The following spring, the family moved back to the homestead. The Homestead Act of 1863 allowed anyone to file for a quarter-section of “government” land (160 acres) for free. The catch was that before you could get title, you had to “prove up,” which included building a house, digging a well, and other requirements – along with actually living on the claim. Homesteaders would normally prove up in five years, but the Gittings family did it in three, during the last two of which Cora’s mother taught at the Shotgun school.
In 1921, the family moved back to Prineville so her sister, Marian could attend high school.
Cora graduated from Crook County High School in 1927 and then attended Southern Oregon Normal School in Ashland for two years, after which she followed her mother and became a teacher.
For the next three years, she taught at three different schools in rural Crook County, including one year at her alma mater, Shotgun. It was during this time she met a local rancher, Bert Houston and later divorced.
Cora moved back to Prineville in 1945 near the end of World War II, and worked for the local Ration Board. Later, she held a number of bookkeeping, clerical and stenographic positions around Prineville. These included working for Ochoco Feed, Miller Lumber and the Mid-State Lumber Co.
She went to Boise for a short stint with the Boise-Payette Lumber Co. (later Boise-Cascade), returned to Prineville, and then decided to try and live on the coast. In August, 1956, a job in Coos Bay, Ore. with the North Bend Water Board gave her that opportunity, but conflict in the office proved challenging. She moved back to Prineville and was offered a job from Hugh Thayer, manager of the Prineville BLM office. She reported for work two days later, on Jan. 27, 1957, and stayed until April 1971, when she retired.
A woman of many interests, one of her favorites was quilting. Cora was the driving force in starting a local club, the Ochoco Quilters. It was the first quilting club in Central Oregon.
Cora also painted, and painted since she was a child. She sold about 30 paintings during her lifetime.
Cora was working on a book detailing her early life until she was about 12 years old, using an electric typewriter. Cora also loved maps. Her two favorite shows were a British comedy series and Oregon Field Guide.
Cora also enjoyed traveling. Immediately after retirement, she took a couple of trips up to Alaska. She traveled throughout Oregon and the West, and she enjoyed New England. In the mid-1990s she even took a trip to the British Isles with friends.
According to Cora, she once said the secret of her longevity was not how she lived but her attitude, and ever since she read them somewhere in a book, four special words have remained her motto.
Cora will be missed greatly by many many family and friends.
She is survived by her many nephews and nieces.
She was preceded in death by her parents and three brothers and two sisters.
Memorial contributions may be made in her name to Pioneer Memorial Hopice; 1201 NE Elm St., Prineville, OR 97754.
Arrangements are in the care of the Prineville Funeral Home. Please visit www.PrinevilleFuneralHome.com to share your memories or express your condolences by signing the on-line Guest Book.
