Emma Louise (Jordan) Houska

Emma Louise (Jordan) Houska, age 89, died Saturday, 26 March 2011 at Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, PA.  Born and raised in Highland Park, NJ, she was the daughter of Robert and Margaret (Taylor) Jordan and the grand-daughter of musician/composer Harry C. Jordan.  She resided in Middlesex Borough, Martinsville, and Lakewood, NJ before moving to Cumberland Crossings in Carlisle, PA in 2004 to be near her daughter.

She was a graduate of the Highland Park HS class of 1938, and was a typist at the Bakelite Corp. in Bound Brook, NJ where she met chemist Vladimir J. Houska.  They married in 1944.

She was a past President of the Women’s Club of Middlesex and advisor to the Jr. Women’s Club; a member of the Century Chapter No. 100 of the Order of the Eastern Star; and a long-time member of the Congregational Church of Bound Brook where she taught Sunday school and played in the bell choir.  She volunteered at the Washington Valley Library in Martinsville and played in the percussion section of the Bound Brook Community Orchestra.  She was a talented pianist who was blessed with the gift of perfect pitch.  Emma encouraged all her children and grandchildren to include music in their lives.

Emma was predeceased by her husband of 53 years in 1997 and her two siblings, Margaret Eberhardt and Robert Jordan.  She is survived by 3 children: a son, Richard V. Houska, of Atlanta, GA and 2 daughters; Janet L. Wylie (and husband James M. Wylie) of Mt. Holly Springs, PA and Nancy M. Houska of Carlisle, PA; 8 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

Hoffman-Roth Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 219 North Hanover Street, Carlisle, PA 17013 is in charge of funeral arrangements.  There will be a viewing Saturday, 2 April, from 6-8 PM at the funeral home followed by a graveside memorial service  at 2:30 PM on Monday, 4 April at Franklin Park Memorial Cemetery in North Brunswick, NJ where Emma will be close to her parents and her husband and the area she grew up in and loved. 

Memorial contributions may be made to the Bound Brook Congregational Church, Church & High streets, Bound Brook, NJ 08805.