Earnest (Earnie) Lee Houston

KENT - Earnest Lee Houston was born in Detroit, Michigan on July 30,1952, to Phyllis and Robert Houston, Sr., both of whom preceded him in death. Four of five siblings - Kenneth Houston, Linda Houston Nastal, Lydia Houston Trubilowicz, and Robert Houston, Jr.  as well as one grandson, Francisco L. Houston, also preceded him in death.

Earnie, as he was known to most, grew up in southwest Detroit and attended Detroit Public Schools, graduating from Western High School in 1972. He spent most of his working years as a hi-lo driver for Chrysler. During layoffs, he found a job until he was called back. At 6'2", Detroit Tigers fans and foes couldn't miss him yelling '"Popcorn! Peanuts!" at Tiger Stadium during those times. He retired from Chrysler in 2008 after 35 years of service.

Earnie's life as a family man began with his marriage to Vickie Blankenship. Two children -- Steven Allan and Amanda Christine -- were born to that union.

With his niece playing Cupid, Earnie would eventually marry the longest love of his life, Marsha "Rita" Barnes, on July 22, 1995. They were blessed with one daughter. Heavin Janiece. Their union also meant that Earnie became a dedicated father to two bonus sons, Marcos DeAundree and Carl Edward. What a life they built when they moved from Michigan to Ohio as a big, blended family. It's where they would welcome their first grandchild together -- Starr Niveah-Marie, affectionately known as Starr Baby.

To know Earnie was to know he loved his wife, telling her every day: "I love you, honey." She was his most revered challenger. He'd see Marsha coming, say "aww, woman" -- and then he'd move in whatever direction she nudged, at his own pace, of course. His family and friends could depend on him for anything, but they'd better be on time because he was the impatient kind. He was great with his hands, whether it was making Mexican fare, collard greens or "chickey-fry" for his family; taking care of his pool; or upholding his reputation for having the best-looking yard on the block.

This blue-eyed soul brother earned nicknames like "E.L. Smooth'' and "Earnie D." (The D is for Detroit.) He loved rolling with a competitive bowling league, and he was his family's resident bowling teacher. An all-around sports fan, he'd root for LeBron James and the Lakers, but Earnie was a super fan of Detroit teams. No one could tell him about his Tigers, Lions or Red Wings. Earnie might've loved his teams, but one thing was for certain: he always fell asleep on them. Give him a good meal and a seat in his man cave -- any one of those teams would be watching him before half-time. If you pointed out that he was dozing off, he'd argue, "No, I wasn't." He was stubborn that way. Even when he was wrong, he was right -- especially when it came to calling someone by their actual name.

After surviving lung cancer and brain cancer, Earnie would later depart this Earthly life on October 3, 2022. He was 70 years old.

He leaves to cherish his memory: his wife of 27 years, Marsha Houston; children, Steven (Angelica) Houston, Amanda Houston (Michael Ratcliffe) of Michigan, Marcus (Rebecca) Barnes, Carl Jones, Jr., and Heavin Houston (Jonathan Barnes); grandchildren, Maria Isabella Houston, Danielle Malina Houston, Steven Daniel Houston, II, and Starr Niveah-Marie Barnes; great-grandchildren, Maurice Earl Hawthorne and Brooklyn Anne Houston-Washington; sister, Janie (Mark) Olewnik of Michigan; sisters-in-law, Wanda Hill and Alethea (Kirk) Joe, all of Michigan; brothers-in-law, Jerry Barnes, Jeffery Overall, and Michael Barnes -- all of Michigan -- and Edward (Teonna) Barnes, Jr. of Missouri; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.