Funeral Service of Dale C. Houser

Dale C. Houser, 87, of New Oxford, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at Cross Keys Village, Brethren Home Community. He was the loving husband of the late Janet Shearer Houser, who also recently passed away on May 16 ^th .

Born November 10, 1934 in West Hazleton PA, he was a son of the late Llewellyn Clyde and Corona Elizabeth (Horsfield) Houser.

A graduate of West Hazleton High School and then Penn State University at State College, Mr. Houser became an electrical engineer and authority on everything else, too.  His Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering led him from Pennsylvania Power and Light to a long career with the Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research.  He became an expert in underwater acoustics, and led programs to improve US naval torpedoes.  He would use this knowledge throughout his life to quiz hearing aid salesmen, to find out if they knew as much as he did. For most of his working life, Mr. Houser resided in West Springfield, Virginia, where he raised his family.  Mr. Houser loved music, especially the piano.  Growing up in a depressed mining town in Pennsylvania, his mother insisted that he learn to play, because as she put it, she'd rather have him playing piano in a bawdy house than go down the mines.  Mr. Houser played not only for himself, but also to accompany his children on other instruments, and for church and community groups from time to time.  He was known to wake his family up on weekends with a pounding rendition of the Hungarian Dances by Brahms, or Sonata Number 11 by Mozart. Mr. Houser also took a liking to the banjo, much to the consternation of his family.  He performed for many years with the Alexandria Harmonizers Barbershop Chorus, at a time when they rose to prominence in national and international competitions.  Mr. Houser loved his grandkids very much, and was always very attentive to them.  He enjoyed traveling in the family motorhome across the US, and later took many train trips from coast to coast.

Mr. Houser is survived by three children - Jennifer S. (Houser) Hill and her husband Roger of Havertown; David K. Houser and his wife Julie of North Yorkshire, England; and Julie (Houser) Russell of Denver, CO.  Dale has seven grandchildren - Corona Hill, Owen Houser, Benn Houser, Christopher Williams, Tim Williams, Tiffany Russell and Brandon Russell.

In addition to his parents and wife, Dale was preceded in death by his sisters Connie Houser and Phyllis (Houser) Ryan.

A service to celebrate the life of Dale C. Houser will be held one day after Dale and Janet's 65 ^th Wedding Anniversary, at 12 p.m. on Thursday, June 9, 2022 at the Zizelmann-Gulla Funeral Home, 500 E Broad St, Tamaqua, PA with Pastor Linda S. Titzell officiating. A time to share memories with the family and an opportunity to view will be on Thursday from 11:30 a.m. until the time of service at the funeral home. Burial will be in Sky-View Memorial Park, Tamaqua, beside his wife, and close to his parents and sister.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to National Park Foundation, 1500 K Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20005. https://www.nationalparks.org/support .

To share memories of Dale C. Houser and view a video tribute, please visit www.wetzelfuneralhome.com .