Loraine Houston

Charlotte Loraine Houston
Loraine Houston; née Newman
Born	1939-12-21 Windsor, Ontario
Died	2025-09-13 Red Deer, Alberta
Occupation	nurse, public health nurse
Father	Harold Newman
Mother	Marie Newman
Partner	Bob Houston

Charlotte Loraine Houston ((1939-12-21)21 December 1939 – 13 September 2025(2025-09-13) (aged 85)), known as Loraine, was a nurse and public health nurse who grew up in Port Arthur, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) and later settled in Red Deer, Alberta. She was also an amateur family genealogist on Ancestry.ca, researching the Newman and Sloane families under the username Cewmal and maintaining a collection of old family photographs and letters.

Early life

• Born 21 December 1939 in Windsor, Ontario.
• Daughter of Harold Newman and Marie Newman (née Sloan).
• Grew up in Port Arthur, Ontario (now Thunder Bay), Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Biggar, Saskatchewan.

Career

• Attended nursing school at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, graduating in 1961.
• Worked occasional nursing shifts at various care facilities through the 1970s and 1980s.
• 1981 — completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Alberta.
• Worked as a public health nurse in the Red Deer and Innisfail offices.
• Retired in the mid-1990s.

Family

• Married Robert O. "Bob" Houston (1937 – 2022), a civil engineer, in 1961; they settled first in Rosetown, then Regina.
• Children:
  • Ann Morse (born 20 March 1962), a public health nurse; married Jeremy Morse (died 2002); mother of Emily Charlotte Morse (born 5 October 2001).
  • Rob Houston (born 28 September 1964), of Calgary.
  • Laura Houston (born 16 July 1970), of Red Deer.
• One grandchild: Emily Morse.

Predeceased by:

• husband Bob Houston (died 2022)
• parents Harold Newman and Marie Newman
• son-in-law Jeremy Morse (died 2002)

Relationship with relatives

Visits and correspondence

• c. 1955–1956 (Easter break) — Harold took his children Dave (grade 12) and Loraine (grade 11) by CNR rail to meet Newman relatives in eastern Canada, then south to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to visit Clinton and Virginia. Dr. Jean was present during the visit and noted Loraine's persistent sleepiness as typical adolescent development.
• August 1962 — Clinton and Virginia visited Harold and Marie's home in Biggar, Saskatchewan. Loraine, Bob, and their infant daughter Ann were present. Virginia took a group photograph (and is therefore absent from it).
• Around the late 1970s, Harold and Marie attended the wedding of one of Ruth and Bruce's children, whom she believed in 2019 to be Mary Ann (but this is not possible since Mary Ann eloped). Marie spoke highly of Ruth.
• June 1982 — For Harold and Marie's 50th wedding anniversary, Virginia sent them a photograph taken at the Pittsburgh home showing a visit from Aunt Della (undated photo).
• Ongoing (multiple years) — Jack and his wife Dottie sent Marie annual Christmas greetings. In later years, Loraine replied on Marie's behalf, as Marie's dementia prevented her from corresponding. Loraine noted that Jack was always glad to receive updates on Marie, even after she had moved into a nursing home.
• February 1994 — Dave and his wife Lois, while holidaying with Marie in Kauai, Hawaii, looked up Jack and visited him.
• c. late 1990s–2000s — Dave and Lois returned to Kauai and had a second, extended visit with Jack.
• c. 2010s — Dave and Lois visited Jack's son Tom and his family while in New York. Dave maintained ongoing contact with Tom.
• 20 September 2018 — Loraine and Bob hosted a dinner at their Red Deer home for Loraine's brother Dave and his wife Lois, who had flown in from Terrace, and for Michael Currie, a more distant Newman cousin visiting from Calgary. Over the evening — which Michael recorded — the family shared old photographs and films and telephoned Loraine's cousin Lynn Newman in Kelowna, and talked over family genealogy, careers, and pioneer stories.

Unrealized visits

• Loraine expressed regret at never having met Jack and Dottie in person. Travel became difficult after Bob suffered his first heart attack in January 1999 at age 61, followed by subsequent cardiac events, knee replacements, and a large sarcoma requiring extended recovery (2018).

Death

• Died 13 September 2025 at Red Deer Regional Hospital, Red Deer, Alberta, aged 85, surrounded by family.
• Memorial service held at Eventide Funeral Home, Red Deer, Alberta, on 14 October 2025.