Stuart and Mary Houston were among the best-known husband and wife bird-banding teams in Canada, and regular Raptor Research Foundation (RRF) conference attendees. We find it impossible to write a memorial for either separately. Mary Isabel Houston died on 19 July 2019 following complications from a fall, and C. Stuart Houston died of a stroke two years later on 22 July 2021.
Mary came from a farm in Dilke, Saskatchewan, while Stuart was born in North Dakota and moved with his parents to Yorkton, Saskatchewan, within 3 months of his birth. Stuart's budding interest in ornithology was stimulated at the age of thirteen by a birthday gift of Birds of Canada (Taverner 1934), presented to him by two of his aunts. Stuart also was mentored by Isabel Priestley, whose weekly “muskeg walks” became a regular feature in his life. While in grade nine, Stuart began a project which...