Willard S. "Sam" Houston Jr.

Willard S. "Sam" Houston, Jr.
Capt. USN, Ret
1923 ~ 2012
Monterey - Sam Houston died on January 16, 2012 at the age of 88 in his home at the Park Lane in Monterey. "Capt Sam," as he was known to many, spent his life in service to his country, church, and community.
Houston was born in Los Angeles in 1923. He joined the U.S. Navy in December, 1941, just days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served in the Pacific Theater before being sent to officer training at the California Institute of Technology and midshipmen's school at Notre Dame, Indiana. Houston earned his Master of Science degree from the Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, in 1953, and his doctorate in Meteorology from the University of Stockholm in 1963.
As a meteorologist, Houston was instrumental in developing modern weather forecasting technology including pioneering the use of weather satellites and computers. While serving as commanding officer of the Fleet Weather Center in Pearl Harbor in 1969 he made use of classified information to redirect the Apollo 11 splashdown, for which he received the Navy Commendation Medal. The Commendation cited his decisive action in saving the lives of the astronauts.
Captain Houston retired in 1976 as Director of Naval Oceanography and Meteorology. After retirement Houston worked as a computer consultant for Ocean Data Systems in Tehran, Iran and as a wind energy consultant in Monterey County.
Houston married his high school sweetheart, the former Jean LeZotte of Eagle Rock, California, in 1945 and was happily married for 64 years until her death in 2009.
Sam Houston died confident and unafraid having lived as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ all his life.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Jean Houston, and two brothers and two sisters. He is survived by his sister, Betty Sundin, of Whittier, California; and his three daughters: Carol H. Mack, of Newbury Park, California; Marylee Bytheriver, of Eureka, California; and Wilma Houston White, of Park Ridge, New Jersey; eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, January 20, 2012 at the Park Lane, 200 Glenwood Circle, Monterey. Memorial donations may be sent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where he served as a volunteer guide for 22 years.