David, Dede, Luke and Ryan Houghton

Words cannot express the profound sense of loss among parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, close associates, and dear friends of David and DeDe Houghton and their sons, Luke and Ryan. All lost their lives suddenly and unexpectedly in a single engine plane crash in Watsonville, Calif., on July 7, 2011. Although their lives were far too short, each of them was special and touched many other lives deeply. Each will be missed. Those who knew and loved them may find some consolation that they fully enjoyed life as a family, volunteered generously to help others in many communities, and were together in their final moments.

The family loved traveling the world and getting to know local residents wherever they went as they pursued adventures in scuba diving, skiing, hiking and camping. Their outreach included assistance in the local community and in Mulege [Baja California] after Hurricane Jimena in 2009. They were known for their positive energy, optimism for life, living their dreams, and doing everything together as a family - and together is how they left this world.

David, born July 11, 1966, in Santa Cruz, Calif., graduated from Santa Cruz High School and earned a geology degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. As an undergraduate, David served as a student firefighter, later as a firefighter and emergency medical technician at UCSC, and a resident preceptor at Crown College. DeDe [Dorothy], born April 4, 1967, at Fort Ord, Calif., graduated from King City High School, earned a teaching degree from California State University, Fresno, and then taught elementary school. She first met David in one of his diving classes in 1991. They were married Aug. 17, 1996, in Santa Cruz. Luke, their older son, was born July 26, 1998, in Santa Cruz and attended Branciforte Middle School. Ryan was born March 2, 2001, in Santa Cruz and attended DeLaveaga Elementary School. Both Luke and Ryan were Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-Hers and avid surfers. Luke enjoyed fencing competitions, playing on his computer, listening to classical music, and taking clarinet lessons. Ryan was active in kung fu, enjoyed playing with his Legos, and was certified as a scuba diver on a trip to Bonaire a few weeks ago. It was the first time they were able to dive together as a family.

David was a registered geologist with advanced certifications in many areas of environmental remediation. He was the founder, owner and principal geologist of A+ Environmental Services of Santa Cruz. He also started Aqua Safaris Scuba Center, a Santa Cruz scuba dive shop and school and outfitters of scuba diving vacations around the world. Recently DeDe focused on running Aqua Safaris while David developed his work in geology. The family, including Luke and Ryan, most recently returned from a scuba diving trip to Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, off the coast of Venezuela. The Houghtons were flying to meet the families of David's sister and brother at Pine Mountain Lake, Calif., when their airplane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Watsonville Airport on July 7.

The Houghtons are survived by David's parents, Edward and Marian Houghton; DeDe's mother, Linda Anderson; DeDe's father, Wayne "Andy" Anderson, and her stepmother, Meredith; David's sister, Cathryn Houghton, and her husband, Curtis Renoe, and their children, Claire and Arthur; David's brother, John Houghton, and his wife, Jodi Weidler, and their daughter, Kaleigh; DeDe's brother, Mitch Anderson, and his wife, Cheri, and their son, Grant, and daughter, Bailey.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to Twin Lakes Church and the Handicap Scuba Association where David and DeDe volunteered their time.

A memorial service to honor the lives of the David Houghton Family will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 16, at Twin Lakes Church, 2701 Cabrillo College Drive, Aptos, Calif. A tribute to the David Houghton family has been set up with updates, pictures, articles and comments from their extended family, friends and community at the family website at www.johnhoughton.com.