Resident of Santa Cruz

A force to be reckoned with, Jeanne Houston was born in 1934, which is Year of the Dog in the Chinese Zodiac.

No surprise to those who knew her, people born in the Year of the Dog are known to be honest, go out of their way to protect loved ones, have a strong sense of fairness, bravery, and unwavering loyalty, and a steadfast commitment to doing what is morally right. Perhaps less commonly known, is that she also loved movies, beautiful Japanese paper, chili dogs with chopped red onions, eggplant parmesan, kalbi ribs, and ice cream sandwiches.

Born the youngest of 10 children to Ko and Riku Wakatsuki, Jeanne grew up in the Los Angeles area until the age of seven. In 1942, her entire family was forced by the Federal Government to move to the Manzanar War Relocation Authority Center, a concentration camp that during World War II detained ethnic Japanese, the majority of whom were U.S. citizens. After the war, the family moved back to Long Beach and eventually relocated to the Bay Area where Jeanne graduated from James Lick High School in San Jose. In 1956, she received aBAin Sociology from San Jose State, where she met James D.

Houston. They were married in 1957 on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. In 1962, they moved to Santa Cruz and raised a family and lived in the same house their entire lives. During this time, they co-authored the book Farewell to Manzanar, a memoir of Jeanne’s time in Manzanar, published in 1974.

Jeanne is predeceased by her husband of 52 years, James D. Houston, who died on April 16, 2009 and eight of her brothers and sisters. She is survived by her children, Corinne Riku Houston, Joshua Dudley Houston, and Gabrille Toyo Houston-Neville, all of Santa Cruz, CA and her brother Kiyo Wakatsuki, of Honolulu, HI.

A Celebration of Life will be held Sat. March 1st, 2025 at 1:00pm at the Boardwalk's Coconut Grove, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz, CA. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Japanese American National Museum at janm.org/give