GARY LEE HOUSEMAN

MUSCATINE, Iowa – Gary Lee Houseman, 81, passed away on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.

Funeral Service will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, June 24, 2024, at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery. A luncheon will follow the burial at American Legion.

Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. on Monday, June 24, 2024, at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to his kids. Online Condolences may be made at www.wittichfuneralhome.com.

Gary was born on September 29, 1942, in Muscatine, the son of Harold and Effie (Bailey) Houseman. He married Sharren Newcomb in 1965, and was married to her for 35 years until her passing in August of 2000.

Gary and Sharren had three children: Kim Stroughmatt of Muscatine, Iowa, Robin Swanson of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Samuel Houseman of Fredonia, Iowa.

Gary retired from Stanley Consultants after 43 years of employment.

In his youth, Gary enjoyed playing men’s fast pitch softball and was an awesome pitcher who threw one heck of a “knuckle ball”. His nickname by many was “Toad”. He later enjoyed coaching his girls in softball for many years.

Gary was an avid Hawkeye fan and Cubs fan. He got to see his Cubbies finally win the world series which brought tears to his eyes and joy to his heart. He also didn’t miss an Iowa Hawkeye women’s or men’s basketball game or football game. He was so amazed with Caitlyn Clark and enjoyed every minute of watching the Iowa women play.

He took pride in being a grandparent, and that role always came first. It was his pride and joy, never missing an activity of theirs. Everyone referred to him as “Poppy”, and he too had a nickname for everyone. His house was always the “home base” for the family with weekly (most of the time more) dinners where everyone would meet to keep Poppy updated on everyone’s lives.

Gary was a storyteller. He loved to tell the stories about his high school days driving around in a car him and a friend paid $75.00 dollars for, and he swears that they supplied the local sheriff’s deputies with their weekly stock of beer when they stopped them and took it away.

He also tells a story of when he and Orvile were in grade school at the Ice Cream Social. They took an old crank phone and thumb tacks and placed them on the seat in the girls’ outhouse and wired it to the crank phone and waited for a girl to go in and then they cranked it up. It worked, and they were in trouble.

He loved going for rides in the country and telling his daughter, Kim, about who lived where when he was growing up. He also loved her taking him to the casino, he was a fan of Black Jack and Craps. It didn’t matter if he won or lost, he just loved spending time with her.

Gary is survived by his kids; grandchildren, Clay Strause, Ashley (Strause) Keller, Cassandra Swanson, Samantha Swanson, Chandler Houseman, Zach Houseman, Alyssa Houseman, Amanda Ray, Thomas Keller, and Alexander Swanson; great grandchildren, Cole Strause, Kaiden Strause, Charlie Keller, Axton Houseman, Brielle Stanbro, Ryan Jones, Primrose Jones, Aivah Houseman, Freya Houseman, and Anthony Houseman Jr; and many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents; wife, Sharren; and brothers, Ray Houseman and Cecil Houseman.