Kelli Colleen Houlihan

Kelli Colleen Houlihan, of Dallas, Texas passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, August 25, 2024, age 67. She was born September 19, 1956 in Grapevine, Texas, the second of five children of Frieda Lea Houlihan and John James Houlihan.

After going to Southlake Carroll ISD schools for early education, she attended Nolan Catholic High School in Ft Worth and graduated in 1975. At Nolan she was a varsity cheerleader her junior year and captain of the squad as a senior.

Following high school, Kelli entered the hospitality industry where her intelligence, charm and winning personality served her well, eventually becoming inventory manager at the hotel chain Posados de Mexico. She also loved Art and so resigned from Posadas to spend a semester in Italy to study art history. Upon her return, Kelli joined the concierge staff at The Registry, a luxury five star hotel, where she met and hosted many stars of the era.

Her success in the hospitality industry made for an easy transition to travel technology where she had a long successful career with American Airlines and its spinoff Sabre Travel Network. Starting as a Reservations Agent in 1985, Kelli earned increasingly responsible positions, culminating in Senior Principal Account Director from 1999-2014. In that role she managed sales negotiations and the structure of complex contract agreements with some of the largest travel clients, while also studying art at the University of North Texas (UNT). She graduated from UNT with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Drawing and Painting, in 2002. Leaving Sabre, Kelli took a Sales Executive position with Unit 4, an international cloud-based enterprise software solutions company, from 2015–2020, after which she retired.

Kelli was an avid and accomplished artist, primarily painting and drawing. Her work is in private collections and was prominently featured in the annual Voertmann student show at UNT and in several exhibits at the Swiss Avenue Dallas Contemporary.

Kelli was a loving wife, married for 34 years to Lawrence William Kreitzer; devoted mother to her only daughter Amy Lynne Redmon Sim; gracious mother-in-law to Brandon Craig William Sim; proud adoring grandmother (“Gaga”) to William Henry Craig Sim III and Charlotte Evelyn Sim, who she visited as often as possible; and caring daughter, sister, and aunt.

Kelli will be remembered most for her loving, giving and positive personality. She brought joy and love to everyone around her.

Kelli is preceded in death by her father. She is survived by her mother, husband, daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren, stepson Austin William Goodman, sister Patricia Houlihan Aussicker (late spouse Edward Abbott Aussicker), brother Michael Lawrence Houlihan (spouse Amy Lyn Houlihan), sister Tracy Houlihan Lewis (spouse Anthony Jackson Lewis), brother James Matthew Houlihan (spouse Cynthia Ann Houlihan), nephew Michael Connor Houlihan, niece Emily Erin Houlihan and niece Corsicana Smith.

A funeral mass will be held at Saint Monica Catholic Church in Dallas, Texas on Thursday, October 3, 2024 at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to UT Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center, Women's Cancers.