MARY M.L. HOUSTON

Houston Mary Catherine Magann Longsworth Houston, 87, of Gulf Breeze, passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Gulf Breeze Hospital after a short illness.

Mary Catherine was born Dec. 11, 1922 in Farmville, Va. As a young wife, she lived in Baltimore, Md., where she was employed in war manufacturing during World War II. She later lived in Martinsville, Va. In 1954, her husband was hired by Chemstrand, and the family moved to Pensacola.

Mary moved to The Villas assisted living residence in Gulf Breeze in 2005 after the death of her first husband, James Longsworth. She met her second husband, Charles (Chuck) Houston, at The Villas. They moved to The Courtyard assisted living residence in Gulf Breeze in 2008, where she still lived at the time of her passing.

The Longsworths were charter members of the Trinity Presbyterian Church, Cordova Park, where Mary Catherine served as the minister’s secretary and sang in the choir. She also had a lifelong passion for art, literature and science. She studied geology as a senior citizen at Pensacola Junior College. She was an avid reader, potter, artist and a gifted, talented cook.

Preceding her in death were her husband of 62 years, James Butler Longsworth, and daughter, Judith Eileen.

She is survived by her three sons, James Allan and Joseph Lynwood of Pensacola, and Jonathan Eric (Elena) of Aptos, Calif., five grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren; also her second husband of five years, Charles Houston of Gulf Breeze, and his large and loving family.

A celebration of Mary’s life was held Monday, March 15, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Ensley. In accordance with her wishes, her body was donated to the College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama in Mobile.

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