Houser

Frederick N. Houser Jr. of 76 Lake Street, Stoneboro, passed away at 6:31 a.m. Thursday in UPMC Horizon, Greenville. He was 84.

Born Jan. 1, 1925, in Stoneboro, Fred was the son of Frederick N. and Ellen Hanford Houser.

He graduated from Stoneboro High School Class of 1942. Interrupting college, he served in the U.S. Army from 1944 until 1946. He was with the Manhattan District, the atomic bomb project, in 1945 and 1946 at Los Alamos, N.M., participating in high explosives development. Upon his discharge, he returned to the Carnegie Institute of Technology, where he received a degree in mechanical engineering in 1947.

He then went to work in the motive power and car department of the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad at Greenville, where he worked until 1954. From 1955 until 1974, he was an associate editor for Railway Age Magazine, the leading trade journal in the railroad industry. He then became editor of Railway Locomotives and Cars, a related magazine, published by the same publisher and also located in New York City. From 1974 until 1986, he was manager of the Railroad Research Information Service operated by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences of Washington, D.C.

He returned to Stoneboro after his retirement, where he was elected to the Stoneboro Borough Council and served as its president for 10 years.

During his lifetime, he traveled throughout the world, traveling by train whenever possible, eventually reaching six continents, with his camera always at the ready.

His interest in railroads was both a profession and a hobby. His photographic hobby included not only trains, but sporting events. He was cited by Lakeview High School for the coverage he gave their sporting events for 18 years.

Organizations Fred was active with included the Mercer County Historical Society, the Greenville Railroad Park, the Lakeview North West Development Committee, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Stoneboro Lions Club and Lake Lodge 434 F&AM for many years. He was a member of the Stoneboro Presbyterian Church.

He was preceded in death by his parents and was the last surviving member of his immediate family and survivors include several cousins.

<B>HOUSER</B> — Calling hours for Frederick N. Houser Jr., who died Thursday, March 26, 2009, are from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the <B>Scott A. Black Funeral Home</B>, 99 Franklin St., Stoneboro. The funeral and committal service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday in the funeral home with the Rev. Adam J. Rodgers, pastor of Stoneboro Presbyterian Church, officiating. Interment will be in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Sandy Lake Township.Memorial contributions may be made to the Lakeview Area Meals on Wheels, P.O. Box 548, Stoneboro, PA 16153.