Herman “Bud” Hamilton Houck  (August 27, 1906 - August 27, 1966)

Bruce Westerdahl’s Uncle

A lovable rogue. That’s how I remember my Uncle Bud, my Mother’s brother who was only five when his Mother died. Elsie Pearl was only twenty-seven. What a traumatic experience for the four children she left behind!

Effie Shuey Houck, Uncle Bud’s stepmother when Grandpa remarried, was not the warm and fuzzy type at the time according to my Mother. She was rigid and very demanding of her children, including Uncle Bud who I always thought  of as  a free spirit.

After only two years of high school, Uncle Bud began working for a bakery and soon established an excellent reputation for his pastries and specialty breads. When he enlisted in the Army in WWII in April of 1942 at the age of twenty-five,  he was sent to the South Pacific where he was a cook. As far as I know, he had no combat experience.

Uncle Bud was married twice, but my genealogical records about those events are incomplete. We do know that he and Gail Bonner, his first wife, had a son, Laverne with whom we occasionally correspond.  

Uncle Bud was only sixty when he died, undoubtedly a tragic victim of alcohol abuse. That addiciton prompted some relatives to label him the “black sheep” of the family and turn their backs on him.  What a shame for a man who appeared to love life and enjoy people!

Each year in early December, Nancy and I and other family members participate in the National Wreath Project at the Gettysburg National Cemetery. After creating Christmas Wreaths in the morning, we place them on the graves, and we always make certain we place a wreath at Uncle Bud’s burial site. 

Uncle Bud touched my life, and I hope there are others who, like me, remember him fondly.