Leslie Houk - An Autobiographical Sketch

Last updated March 13, 2019

I was born in a log cabin that I helped my father build...

I've always wanted to use that line.  Actually, I was born on February 1, 1963, and spent the first sixteen years of my life in Horse Cave, Kentucky ("The Heart Of The Cave Region!").  Just over a year later, my younger brother, Dale, was born, and I proceeded to spend the next decade and a half picking on him.   (If you're reading this, bro, I officially and publicly apologize.)

After graduating from Caverna High School (Class of '80, 75 members) I was ready to move to the huge metropolis (well, it seemed like one at the time) of Bowling Green, Kentucky, to attend Western Kentucky University.  Four years later I earned my Bachelor's Degree with a double major in Computer Science and Biochemistry.

In December of 1984 I accepted my first real job at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas.  Except for a year in Washington, D.C. that I would just as soon forget, I spent the next six years in Galveston working on computers for various departments at UTMB.  I also married my first wife, Mary Anne, and had a daughter, Virginia, who was born on January 9, 1987.  In 1990 Mary Anne and I divorced amicably (and remain friends to this day).  In January of 2001, I met Tammy Mancuso, fell in love, and six months later we were married.  In the summer of 2002, I began working for S & K Technologies, Inc., a subcontractor at NASA's Johnson Space Center, and I've been there ever since.

In July of 2011, Tammy and I moved to Pearland, a suburb south of Houston proper, to be more centrally located between where Tammy works and where I work.  In October of 2011, Virginia earned her Master's Degree in Canadian Literature from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.  In June of 2015, Virginia married Jason Ball at the Point Betsie Lighthouse in Michigan, and that fall they moved to Okinawa, Japan, where Jason is pursuing a PhD in Physics at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.  In July of 2016 Virginia gave birth to Helen Ball, the cutest baby in the world.

In the summer of 2016, Tammy's oldest son, Scott, earned his Associate's Degree in Process Technology from Lee College in Baytown, Texas, and he is currently working for Valero Energy.  Tammy's other son, Zachary, is currently working towards his Associate's Degree in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) from San Jacinto South Community College while working at the Marathon Oil Refinery in Texas City.

In the spring of 2017, Tammy earned her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from the University of Houston -- Clear Lake, and in August of 2018 started working at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center.