Susan Prohaska Stull Houghton

Lab retiree Susan Prohaska Stull Houghton of Livermore died Thursday, Aug. 16, after a short battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 65.

Born Feb. 15, 1947, in Chicago, Ill., she grew up in Elgin, Ill, where she graduated from Larkin High School. She went on to receive a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in 1969 with a major in teaching and a minor in speech.

After teaching in Barrington, Ill., she married Edward Stull and continued teaching in China Lake, Calif. When they moved to Livermore in 1979, she stayed home to raise their two young sons. Her husband Ed died from injuries suffered in a 1980 auto accident. Soon after the accident she joined LLNL as a technical writer and editor. During her quarter century career at LLNL she worked on the Laboratory's flagship publications. Many of these publications won national awards for excellence.

In 1994, after a long courtship, she married John Houghton, a fellow Lab employee. She retired in 2004.

Her activities included reading, gardening, golf, skiing, canoeing, traveling, and photography, particularly of wild flowers. She was an accomplished photographer and was called on to judge local photography shows. Above all, she cherished spending time with her family and friends.

Houghton is survived by her husband, John of Livermore; her mother, Elaine Prohaska, of San Ramon; her son Peter, and his wife, Erin and granddaughters Gracelyn and Joyanna of Arvada, Colo.; and her son, Michael and his wife Toni and grandson Seth of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Private family services are pending. Memorial donations may be made to the Yosemite Conservancy, 155 Montgomery Street, Suite 1104, San Francisco, CA 94104.