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February 20, 2012

Friends: Houston was ‘fair, likable’

Misty Watson mistywatson@daltoncitizen.com

Even during a disagreement, Neil Houston would remain calm and fair, said those who knew him.

Houston, 76, died Saturday. He served six years on the Dalton City Council in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

“Neil was a great guy,” said Don Ellis, who served as Dalton mayor from 1975-1983. “He was citizen-oriented and fair ... He was very conscientious of his council job. He had an honest approach.”

One of the main accomplishments of the mayor and council at that time was negotiating with the county for a portion of the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), Ellis said.

“We negotiated the first settlement with the county,” he said. “That was probably the biggest thing we did.”

Houston participated in negotiations with the county to merge governments or at least portions of the governments.

“One of the things we tried to accomplish back in those days ... we worked with the county,” Ellis said. “We worked on the possibility of a metro government back then.

“We were very fortunate at the time,” he said. “We had a good council and a good group of people who worked together.”

Trammel Scott, who served as a council member with Houston, echoed Ellis’ thoughts.

“It was a crew that got along very well,” Scott said. “We usually voted as a consensus. He was very attentive to his elected position. He was level-headed and fair.”

Scott and Houston were first cousins who grew up together.

“He was a very competitive, very likable person,” Scott said. “He made friends very easily. In his professional life, he was very successful. He was a good family man. He had four boys and a girl, and they’ve all turned out very well.”

Houston graduated from Dalton High School in 1954. He played basketball and football, said Ellis, who graduated in 1953.

Houston also attended Auburn University before becoming a captain in the Marine Corps where he served as a helicopter pilot. He later served as president of the Dalton Quarterback Club and as a member of the Whitfield Healthcare Foundation board.

He was an active member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

“He was a good friend,” Ellis said. “He and I had always been good friends. He was someone I was very glad to have known.”

Funeral services will be today at 3 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church with the Rev. Patricia M. Grace and the Rev. Phillip C. Cannon officiating. Arrangements are by Love Funeral Home.

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