Orpha L Houser (Lebanon)'s Obituary
Orpha Leoan Houser, daughter of William Roosevelt and Ival Leoan Turner Lambert, was born January 31, 1932, in Indianapolis, Indiana. She departed this life Friday, January 17, 2014, in Mercy Hospital, in Springfield, Missouri, at the age of eighty-one years, eleven months, and sixteen days.
On July 29, 1957, she was united in marriage to Otis Loyd Houser, and to this union five daughters were born.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Otis, on December 8, 1992; two grandsons, Matthew Joseph Berry, and William “Billy” Craig Nolan Van Patten; and two brothers, William “Billy” and Edward Lambert.
Orpha is survived by five daughters, Donna Neasby, and her husband, Mark, of Conway, Missouri, Julie Porter, and her husband, Allen, of Nixa, Missouri, Rita Houser, of Jefferson City, Missouri, Becky Houser, of Springdale, Arkansas, and Paula Berry, and her husband, Daniel, of Lebanon, Missouri; seven grandchildren, Nigel, Jerrah, Melissa, Kimberly, Crystal, JoAnn, and Elias; thirteen great-grandchildren; a brother, Eugene Lambert, of Boulder City, Nevada; two sisters, Patricia Miller, and Alberta Hughes, and her husband, Norman, all of Indianapolis, Indiana; several nieces and nephews; as well as a host of other relatives and friends.
She was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, and then attended the Arkansas School for the Blind, where she met her future husband, Otis. After they were married, they made their home in Lebanon, Missouri, where Otis was employed by Laclede Metal Products Company. Orpha was a devoted homemaker to her family and also did babysitting in her home throughout the years.
Orpha made her profession of faith in Christ at an early age and was a longtime member of the Lebanon Church of the Nazarene.
In her spare time she enjoyed playing dominos and rummy, and did crocheting. She also made clothes hanger covers out of yarn. Her family was always the center of her life and she enjoyed helping raise her grandchildren. She often told people that she had more vision than most people who had their sight.
Orpha was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and was a caring neighbor and friend. We celebrate her life and know that her family and friends will cherish the wonderful memories she created for them throughout the years. She was truly an inspiration to many because of her ability to accomplish so much in spite of her blindness.
Memorial donations may be made to the Lions Eye Bank, and left at the funeral home.
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