Donald D. Houske M.D.

Donald Derrald Houske
May 20, 1928 – May 28, 2018

After an extended period of poor health, Donald has gone home. Not many people can truly be called “beloved”, but he deserves this description. He worked hard, he played hard, and was generous to a fault.

Donald was born and grew up on a farm in Oldham, South Dakota, where he was captain of his high school basketball team and a Homecoming King. During the Korean War, he joined the Air Force and was stationed in Lubbock, TX. It was there he met Daisy Belle Harrell, and after only 3 months they were married on December 3rd, 1952. Together, they worked multiple jobs until he finished medical school at UCI. He has been a cab driver, a dog catcher, a bouncer, a car salesman, owned a race horse and a Buick dealership, and was an anesthesiologist at Bay Harbor Hospital in Lomita for over 30 years. Together they adopted a baby girl, Cynthia Lyn, in 1966. Donald spent the last decade of his life with his partner Donna Barber.

Donald was a very active and social person. He loved hunting pheasants in South Dakota, fishing on the Colorado River, attending Dodger games as a season ticket holder for 35 years, golfing every Saturday in Long Beach, jogging all over Torrance, taking road trips, listening and dancing to country music from the 60’s and 70’s, tipping a beer and having peanuts at Joe Jost's, and taking Daisy Belle on Caribbean cruises, to Las Vegas, and to the Velvet Turtle every Friday night.

Family and friends were the most important things in Donald’s life. He was extremely close to his siblings Chesley, Marcella, Jerome, and Joan as well as their spouses, and his many nephews and nieces and their children. He and Daisy were overjoyed when Donald Dean Duncan Jr. joined the family as Cynthia’s husband in 1993. Donald adored his grandsons Sean Donald and Reilly Joseph Duncan, and was endlessly proud of them and their many accomplishments.

Donald showed us all how to strike up a conversation with anyone, the value of humility, and that people are generally kind and good and deserving of respect. He showed us that success and generosity can and should go hand in hand, and that the actions of one person can make the world a better place. In his honor, have a friendly chat with a stranger, hold a door open for someone, over-tip your waitress, and perhaps enjoy a Jack Daniels at the end of your day. We love you Donald, and will miss you forever.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, June 20th, 2018, 10am at the First Lutheran Church, 2900 W. Carson St., Torrance, CA 90503 with burial to follow at noon in Green Hills Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Pheasants Forever (pheasantsforever.org) and/or Ducks Unlimited (ducks.org).

If you have any memories or pictures of Donald you would like to share with the family, they can be contacted through mail C/O Cynthia Duncan, 1015 Driftwood Ave., Seal Beach, CA 90740 or email at clhduncan@aol.com .