SHIRLEY - Houston Iluf, Jr., passed away October 17, 2009,in Benbrook, TX. He was 90. Houston was born December 17, 1918 in Sapulpa, OK, at 406 North Elizabeth Street (now Berryhill Park). His parents were Houston Iluf Shirley Sr. and Gracie Idella Berryhill. Houston attended Liberty Elementary in Sapulpa, and Robert E. Lee Elementary in Tulsa.

He attended Horace Mann Jr. High in Tulsa, graduating in 1937 from Tulsa Central High School. He attended the University of Oklahoma graduating May, 1941 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He entered the U.S. Navy in June, 1941, and was commissioned an Ensign. After communications and sonar training, he was assigned to the destroyer USS Sterett, DD 407, as the ship's communications and radar officer. The Sterett first conducted anti submarine and escort duties for warships of American and British shipping in the North Atlantic headed to Gibraltar and the Mediterranean. After Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Coral Sea, the Sterett was ordered to the South Pacific fleet and supported the Guadalcanal landing in the Solomon Islands. On August 13, 1942, the Sterett and other ships in its task force were attacked by the Japanese warships in the "slot" near Savo Island. The Sterett was severely damaged by Japanese torpedoes and guns in this 3rd Battle of Savo Island, but it managed to break off the battle under its own power. The officers and men of the Sterett received four Presidential Unit Citations, the highest award given to units in battle. Besides these Presidential citations, Houston also received the Asiatic-Pacific service medal with 7 stars, European service medal and the American Area and the American Defense medals. He later served on the destroyer USS John Hood DD 655 and, as executive office, on the landing repair ship USS Typhon ARL 28, newly constructed in 1945. After the War, Houston became a statistician and economic analyst for Stanolind Oil Purchasing Company in Tulsa, affiliated with Standard Oil Company (Indiana). Its successor company, Pan American Petroleum Corporation, transferred him, in 1955, to its newly formed computing department where he was one of the company's first computer programmers. He retired in 1978 with 32 years of service. He was a member and Commanding Officer of Navy Reserve Petroleum Company 8-4 in Tulsa, entering the Retired Reserve in 1960. After promotion to Lieutenant Commander, he attended Anti Submarine Warfare School at Key West, FL, and Computer training in College Station, TX, and other Navy schools at Long Beach, CA and Washington, D.C. Petroleum Unit 8-4 was composed of Navy reservists in Tulsa who worked in the petroleum industry, and who were knowledgeable of contingency plans and economics for securing and transporting petroleum for national defense.

Houston was a member of Masonic Lodge 71, AF & AM., a 32nd degree member of the Tulsa Scottish Rite, and belonged to Tulsa's Akdar Shrine. He was also a member of the Green "T" Club in Tulsa, and the First Methodist Church, Sapulpa.

His wife, Julia Brant Shirley, predeceased him. He is survived by: a brother Thomas E. Shirley, Austin, TX; two sons, Houston Shirley III, Bixby, and grandchildren, Elizabeth Shirley and Nathaniel Shirley; and David Shirley, Benbrook, TX, and grandchildren, Michael Shirley and Teresa Shirley. His brother, James Shirley and sisters, Sue Edmiston and Margaret Stapleton also predeceased him. Gravesite service will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, October 24, 2009 at South Heights Cemetery, Sapulpa. Bixby Funeral Service 369-1700.