Anita Houser

Anita (Losure) Houser, age 85, a resident of rural Portland at Antiville, passed away on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at IU Health Jay in Portland. 

Anita was born to Donald and Hildred (Brinneman) Losure on March 1, 1939, in Poneto, Indiana. She was the valedictorian of Van Buren High School Class of 1957. By 1961, she earned her math education bachelor of science degree from Huntington College where she met R.D. Houser, whom she married July 9, 1961. She taught math in Geneva, Portland and Berne. Later she earned her pilot’s license. 

Together they lived in Bryant, Indiana, Cahokia, Illinois, and Williamsburg, Virginia, and finally settled at Antiville, north of Portland, to raise their family.

In 1985, she earned her second bachelor of science degree from Taylor University in computer science so she could help put her kids through college. 

Some of Anita’s favorite activities were gardening and preserving food for her family. She modeled a determination in using and appreciating wild foods: black raspberries, wild strawberries and morels. Flowers were her joy. The fragrance of lilacs and hyacinths gave her the greatest pleasure. 

Sewing was a hobby she never gave up from making her wedding dress, her children’s clothes and endless mending through grandchildren’s pajamas. 

Classical music was always playing at home. She encouraged Don in band and Marie in piano. Later in life, she was eager to attend her grandchildren’s recitals and band concerts. 

She was always active in her local churches: Bryant Wesleyan, Portland Nazarene and lastly Union Chapel. She supported world missions through Wycliffe Bible Translators, Mission Aviation Fellowship and World Gospel Mission. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother and a sister. 

Survivors include:

Her husband — R.D. Houser, rural Portland, Indiana 

Her children — Don Houser (wife: Kyong), Seattle, Washington, and Marie McKinley (husband: Mark), rural Portland, Indiana 

Six grandchildren

Visitation will be held on Monday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Williamson-Spencer and Penrod Funeral Home in Portland. Services to celebrate Anita’s life will be held on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home with visitation one hour prior to the service. Pastor Richard Secor will officiate and burial will follow at Gravel Hill Cemetery, west of Bryant. 

Memorials may be directed to World Gospel Mission, 3783 E. Indiana 18, Marion, IN 46952, or Mission Aviation Fellowship, P.O. Box 47, Nampa, ID 83687. 

Condolences may be expressed at williamsonspencer.com.