Celebrating
Rick’s Big Life
October 21, 1947 – December 31, 2021
Saturday, April 30, 2022
3:00 PM Mountain Time
Watch Video Recording of Celebration of Life
Rick’s Big Life started out small… on a wheat farm on Section 28 outside of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The son of the late Ronald and Mildred Houghtaling, he was the youngest of 4 kids including Don, Connie and Marjorie. Since moving to the states early in his childhood, his life always seemed to be on a fast track to the next big thing.
The essence of Rick? Rick loved to build things, make people laugh, teach people how to do things, cook and entertain.
Over the years he had many addresses and wore many hats. His high school days at Longmont High in Colorado are still talked about today. After college he moved to Durango, CO where he helped raise his sister Connie’s kids after her death. During that time he worked with his brother-in-law at The Villa, a popular steak house where the cast of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid often dined while they were filming in Durango. It was also during this time that Rick honed his carpentry skills as partner to Ellis Cobb, his mentor and friend. After a stint with the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory as VP of construction and leasing, Rick married Diane Yokom and moved to Laguna Beach, CA, where he continued his career facilitating “roll outs” of small companies growing… big.
Moving up the coast with short stops in Marina del Rey and San Francisco, Rick landed for a while in Sonoma Valley, where he conceived and founded “Sonoma Valley Bagel Co.”, which grew to 52 stores in California and won numerous gold medals at the annual Harvest Fairs. During this time he was invited by the State Department to teach marketing to bakers in Russia during Perestroika. He dove into this assignment with his usual attention to detail and had amazing stories to tell upon his return.
The next phase of Rick’s Big Life took place in the Napa Valley, where he was known for his contractor skills on big projects and small, from project managing construction of Joe Montana’s house in Calistoga to fixing a neighbor’s fence. It was in Napa that Rick fulfilled his dreams of having a boat. Heading out to the San Francisco Bay with his dog Lucky, he was never so content.
From Napa he moved to Denver and started H+Y Design and Build with Diane, and from there they moved to Ajijic, Mexico and retired. Of course Rick couldn’t actually “retire”. He bought an abandoned house and remodeled it, hiring local artisans to do the build. Having completed ESL training at the Oxford Academy, he proceeded to teach English as a second language to the Mexican workmen and kids at the local school.
In his later years Rick moved to Mora, New Mexico, where once again he bought an abandoned house, this time an old adobe, and turned it into a dream mountain home. As his health became an issue, he moved to Santa Fe to be near family and friends. Even then he continued to work, building cabinets and kitchens, and drafting projects for future development.
Rick was a really good friend to have. Loyal, trustworthy, funny as hell, non-judgmental, and a great cook to boot. To all that knew him well, Rick will live on in our hearts forever as someone who loved his friends, cherished his family and was never afraid to tackle a tough project head on.
Rick Houghtaling passed away on New Year’s Eve 2021 after 74 BIG, wonderful years.
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So sad to hear of Rick’s passing. He gave me my first car… an old pink ford with the back seat missing. He took out the back seat so he could put tools and building material back there. RIP Rick!
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Very sad to lose RIck at such an early age, that is, for us in our 70’s. It has been so heartwarming to read the sentiments from friends and relatives who have been fortunate enough to have spent more time with him than our Canadian side of the family. Truly, we had no idea of the scope of his accomplishments & adventures over all the years.
We did enjoy our visit with Rick & Diane in Napa in 2001 as our daughter had moved briefly to San Francisco then. They were in the middle of a kitchen remodel at the time but didn’t hesitate to take us on an enjoyable boat ride down the Napa River in the company of cousin Ron whom I had not seen for sometime as well.
Our sincere condolences to Diane and family and all of Rick’s close friends and relatives who will be missing him at this time as well.
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Our sympathies to all the family on Rick’s passing. I believe the last time we saw Rick was when he and Don came up to Saskatchewan and scattered Uncle Ronnie’s ashes on Grandpa Houghtaling’s farmland close to
Gray, SK, where I grew up. Then they came to visit us and my parents (Ross & Muriel Houghtaling) who lived next door to us in Wawota, SK. It was always a treat to have our US cousins come to visit. Especially when we would all get together at Grandpa Huffy’s at Gray.
We really appreciate being able to see the Celebration of Rick’s Big Life.
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Wore my cowboy hat during the celebration as a nod to Cowboy Rick.
If someone asked me to pick 100 people to start a new civilization on another planet, I’d include Rick. Best to Diane, Joanie and Johan, was great to visit you all last fall.
Lots of love, Frank
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We were sorry to hear of Rick’s passing. We never were part of Ricks adult life, but I have very fond memories of my American cousin coming to visit at Grandma H. during the summers. Rick our cousin Ann and I enjoyed our childhood adventures. I hadn’t seen Rick for several years until my wife Barb and I visited Rick and Diane in Napa, where they showed us a memorable time. I am sure everyone who new Rick has great memories.
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We were sorry to hear about Rick ,Wish condolences to all
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I send along my condolences to everyone, especially to Diane, and to Joanie and Johann, and to Lyn and Lou… Rick was a great guy, with a big heart and a big sense of humor, and he absolutely loved people.
One particular memory of that love stands out for me. One evening, not long after I first met Rick, we were at a gathering at Joanie and Johann’s apartment, in the Haight in San Francisco. Ironically, it was actually a celebration of life for a close friend of Joanie’s, who had just passed away, and folks were encouraged to bring a poem to read. I was sitting in a chair near Rick as people were just arriving, and talking and getting to know one another before the readings began. I watched Rick as he turned his head to face the person who sat down next to him on a couch, and he introduced himself to them.
Then, he turned slightly toward this person, so that he could look them straight in the eye, and what I noticed was that he was looking directly at them, very intently, hanging on every word. After they first spoke, he smiled, and he nodded at them, and then asked them a question, and continued to listen very carefully to what they said, and really focused on them.
And, what struck me about it, was that you could tell that Rick wasn’t just being polite, he wasn’t trying to impress them in any way, he wasn’t making judgments about them, he was just very interested in getting to know this person. He was being honest, and transparent, and totally sincere.
At first, I thought it was just someone that had caught Rick’s attention, and had happened to make an immediate connection with him. But, over the years, I would watch Rick at other social events, and would see him frequently be the same way in talking with people he had just met. He seemed to love making new friends, and he wanted to get started on that friendship right away!
I’m very grateful to have been one of those friends, and grateful for the wonderful times I got to spend with him… Thanks, Rick!!!
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I was saddened to hear of Rick’s passing. Rick and I were more or less best friends throughout high school. We were high spirited boys who did not have enough guidance or supervision. We got into a lot of mischief and many of outr exploits are best left untold after so many years. There may still be outsatnding warrants. Our regular crew of cohorts included John Cummons, John Hopp, Dan Blake, and Denny Hascall. We drank a lot of beer and had a lot of fun together. In later years. I often said to Rick he would have done better to be friends with the nice kids. Rick was so smart and so talented and he had that wonderful unique personality. Who knows what he might have accomplished had he channeled and applied his abilities at an earlier age. As it turned out he still accomplished a great deal. More than most people ever do. Rick always had a lot of nerve and a lot of guts to go along with all of his other fine qualities. Rick was never scared to take a chance. Rick and I lost track of each other for many years but resablished contact and renewed our friendship maybe ten years ago.. Rick is one of the most outstanding personalities I had a chance to meet. So talented and intelligent. A better more loyal friend you could never have. It was a priviledge to know him and be his friend.
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We had so much, too much fun, many many times- especially in Sonoma. Especially during Bagel time.
He made everything better, fun and delicious. Yes I did have too much outstanding Cabernet more than once! We all had a lovely lovely bunch of times in the Northern California days. San Francisco included. And then work fun!
Rick solved problems on my job caused by the Santa Ana winds. All the “other” construction guys followed his direction, because he knew more. Yipes that was a crazy job. And Diane was designing retail like crazy. We were all so lucky to do what we liked, getting better at it all. Rick was a great teacher, he made it fun and delicious. BIG LIFE. Miss him. Can hear his voice and laugh in my head.
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Rick was a contemporay guy . In 1966 he oozed a savvy aura and confidence and a sense of style. He was even-keeled. Loved to party. Always wanted a date with him but nada. 😊 my sincerest condolences to his wife Diane.
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I knew Rick for a brief time in 1970+ in Durango as he did some work for my projects, but found him to be just the kind of person I wanted to know, to work with and to have as a friend. I moved too soon to California and only spoke with him a few more times, not surprised to hear that he had made amazing jumps to new project adventures like a Chocolate Factory rollout, no less! I think he represented a kind of person (like us) that drifted into and found Durango a magic carpet. See you soon Rick!
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We are so glad we were able to come for a visit in October! He fed us well on our visits as he was a great cook and host! He always made time to give input on any project or life in general! We know he knew Our Lord and Savior Jesus and look forward to a heavenly reunion! He is certainly missed!
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We can’t think of a talent Rick did not have. And such a warm heart. Our fond memories of him will last forever and ever and ever. Eileen & Tim
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Rick was a very sweet man whom I very much enjoyed knowing……
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Rick helped me with my project in Mora and without a doubt it would not have been completed and at such quality. We became close friends. His knowledge and skills were
Phenomenal and ability to get along with people served all who knew him. I will truly miss
Him and am better for knowing him. One of those few in a lifetime friends.
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Rick was a very devoted and loyal friend and business partner. We worked together for several years on Sonoma Valley Bagel Company and my many days and weekend spend with him and Diane in St Helena and elsewhere are such wonderful memories. I met and started working with Rick right as I was getting divorced and taking on sole custody of my son Hunter, and Rick was always a positive voice and never failed to bring Hunter a present when we saw each other. Even though we have only talked and emailed sporadically over the past several years I will truly miss not having Rick in the world. All my thoughts and prayers to Diane and Ricks’s family and friends.
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What a beautiful life! Our memories of Rick are of a talented, hard-working, open-hearted man with an immense capacity for humor and helping others. We cherished our time together as neighbors in Ajijic. — Ellen and Hank Barone
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Rick along with his Big Life were both Larger than Life. What a pleasure it was to know him. Looking at his travels through the years, I believe that I got to participate in many of the adventures of Rick and Diane. Think I visited them in all of the places they lived with the exception of two…..Durango and Santa Fe. Sorry I missed those two. Rick and Diane were so lucky to find one another and I played a role in that…..one of my finest moves. I wish Rick had not departed us so early, but glad that I got to know him while he was here. My heart felt condolences go out to Diane as well as Rick’s family members. Remembering Rick will always bring a smile to my face.