Bertha Jeannette (Barry) Houk

Bertha Jeannette Barry Houk passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, surrounded by loved ones. She was born to Phillip Phillip Barry and Bridget (Cotter) Barry on April 5, 1925, in Lakeview, Oregon. Bertha grew up and graduated from high school in Lakeview, Oregon, going on to college at Oregon State College in Corvallis (now Oregon State University) achieving a degree in Business Administration. She served proudly as the Charter President of the Alpha Phi sorority at Oregon State. She later completed a Master’s degree in Education. In 1948 she married Richard Ferrel Houk, of Redmond, Oregon, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Lakeview. They made their home in Prineville, Oregon, and had a busy life raising eight children. Sadly, Richard was killed in an auto accident in 1965. Bertha became a middle school and high school Business teacher. She taught for nearly 30 years as she raised her children in Eastern Oregon – Helix, Enterprise, Maupin, and Pendleton. Her students remember her as the teacher who taught them to greet her every day with a cheery “Good Morning, Mrs. Houk” or “Good Afternoon Mrs. Houk.” Her students won numerous awards at business skills competitions around the state and her goal was to give them the skills and practical knowledge to do well in their careers. Her work ethic was unmatched and she passed that trait on to all of her children, along with her love of a good laugh and celebrating any occasion, happy or sad, with a joyous family party. At the end of her full-time teaching career, she retired and moved to Corvallis where she continued to substitute teach and enjoy life. Bertha is survived by her eight children: Brenda Turner (Peter Murray), Richard Houk, Jr. (Helen Houk), Marilou Fahrner (Richard Fahrner), Barry Houk (Chris Houk), Phillip Houk (Kathy Houk), Alicia Smith (Gary Smith), John Houk (Sharon Aragon Sanchez) and Bridget Washburn, and numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Houk, her parents Phillip and Bridget Barry, her 11siblings, her grandson Joseph Kincaid and her great grandson Ethan Robinson. A Rosary and funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Corvallis, Oregon, with the Rosary at 10:30 a.m. and the Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. with a Celebration of Life from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Pinot Vista Vineyard, 2245 N. Oak Grove Rd, NW, Salem, OR 97304. Flowers are welcome and memorial donations can be made to Newman OSU (with “In memory of Bertha Houk” in the memo line), 2127 NW Monroe Ave., Corvallis, OR 97330, or online at www.osunewman.org. A private committal service will be held at a later date and Bertha will be laid to rest with her husband Richard at Juniper Haven Cemetery in Prineville, Oregon.

Bertha Jeannette (Barry) Houk

April 5, 1925 - May 20, 2025