Wayland Leon “Sonny” Houston was born July 8, 1941 to Riley “Riggs” & Aline Feagans Houston in Lubbock, TX. Sonny was preceded in death by both his parents, an infant daughter, two grandchildren, and a brother-in-law. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Sherry Wheeler Houston; sister, Betty Montague; children Sheila Kaderli and husband, Steven; Aline Krauskopf and husband, Patrick; Keith Houston and wife, Michelle; Joy Coward and husband, Cliff; Riley Houston and wife, Jennifer; thirteen grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; multiple brother and sister in-laws, nieces (including the favorite) and nephews.
Because of his visual disability, he attended Texas State School for the Blind in Austin, TX where he graduated high school. After his marriage to Sherry, he attended the Institute of Electronic Science (part of the TAMU System) where he completed his Associates Degree in Electronic Science. He put himself through school by tuning pianos, a trade that he learned at Texas State School for the Blind. In 1972, he went to work at Texas Instruments (TI) in Austin as a technician. Because of his interest in computers, he worked on the instrument landing system (ILS) as part of a government contract. After retiring from TI, he continued working with computers; developing software, building machines, and mentoring others in computer science technologies.
After a brief battle with chronic health issues, he passed away peacefully with his family by his side on September 17, 2019 in Round Rock, TX.
