Lona Margarite Powers Houghton, 99, of Spearfish, died December 25, 2012.

A Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 A.M., January 2, 2013 at Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels, Spearfish, SD. Graveside services will be held at 9:00 A.M., January 4, 2012 at Norton Cemetery in Norton, KS.

Lona was born March 28, 1913 in Norton, Kansas to Michael E. and Louie Garrison Powers. She was the youngest of seven children. Later in life she fondly remembered her life on the family homestead south of Norton, and was pleased that through so many years the windmill on the home place remained standing.
Lona enjoyed life but she was not a stranger to sadness. An older sister, Nellie, was killed in a car/pedestrian accident when she was a young woman starting a career in the big city. Lona was herself the victim of a tragic car train accident in 1921. The accident, which occurred in Norton on Christmas Eve, claimed the life of Lona's sister Blanche, Blanche's husband and their young child, as well as the family's hired hand. Lona spent weeks in the hospital, and bore physical scars from the wreck for the rest of her life. Her children, however, enjoyed Christmases throughout their childhood without being aware the accident had happened on Christmas Eve. Whatever sorrow she felt during that season did not show.

In 1934, Lona and Sidney C. Houghton eloped to Smith Center, Kansas. Their secret was quickly discovered, as Sid was not of age and the judge called his mother for her okay. The two had a long and adventurous marriage. Their first son, Jan Charles, was born in Smith Center, where they had moved, to work in a grocery store. Their travels also took them to the Black Hills of South Dakota, where they operated a pool hall and then the Halfway House, a steak house located 'halfway' between Spearfish and Deadwood.
Three more children, Thomas A Edward, Patricia Ann and Donald Jay, were born in Deadwood. Jan remains a resident of Spearfish, and all three of his siblings always considered the Black Hills their real home.

Circumstance took the family, except for Jan, to Minnesota, then Iowa. In LeMars, Iowa, Lona worked at the cafeteria at (then named) Westmar College, as assistant manager. She also enjoyed participating in Sweet Adelines. She experimented with cake decoration and enlarged her amazing collection of recipes – many written on any scrap of paper she could find as she listened to local radio programs.
In 1971, Lona and Sid retired to Tucson, Arizona where they enjoyed operating a booth selling knives at the local swap meets.

Sid passed away in 1983. After a time without him, Lona decided to adopt 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' in her new life. She purchased a home in her beloved Norton, Kansas, and moved back there. She rejoiced in renovating her home, and renewing old friendships as well as making new ones. As her mobility decreased, she was helped by caring friends and neighbors. Her son, Tom, lived with her for several years, making it possible for Lona to stay in her own home. After Tom's death in 2008 she sold her house and moved to Spearfish where she could be close to Jan, his wife Callie, and some of her grandchildren including grand-daughters Christina and Kelly, all of whom helped make her comfortable and welcome.

Lona was a delightful person, a caring person, and as many would attest, very strong. She was made of cast iron, forged in a furnace fired by tragedy and the great depression.

Lona was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Nellie Powers, Blanche Johnson and Lenora Smith, brothers George, Manuel, and Sylvester Powers, and her son Tom Houghton. Survivors include two sons, Jan Houghton of Spearfish; Don Houghton of Tucson, AZ; a daughter, Patricia Wallace of Amarillo, TX; ten grandchildren, eleven great-grand children and three great-great grandchildren.