Gregory Scott Houston

Obituary For Gregory Scott Houston

Gregory Scott Houston (best known as Gregg) was born on August 4, 1949, in Salisbury, North Carolina. He was the oldest of five children to Charlotte Elizabeth Fisher and the late John William Houston. He was the beloved first-born grandchild on his mother’s side of the family and was highly thought of and loved by both sides of the family. The family moved to Greensboro, North Carolina in 1951 and resided in Morningside Homes Apartments. His parents bought a newly built home on East Florida Street, during his sixth-grade year at Bluford Elementary School, where he spent the remainder of his formative years.

One of Gregg’s earliest memories was his parents constantly telling him throughout his childhood that he would attend college to make his way in a segregated society. Gregg also learned from his father to never be a stranger to, nor shy away from, hard work which perhaps paved his way to success in business matters. He and his brother were tasked with removing dirt from the 18-inch crawl space under the family home to meet his Father’s dream of having a basement for the family. Gregg affectionately reminisced upon this experience as “digging the basement.” Gregg always wanted to observe the tradesmen and city inspectors handling the skilled aspects of the work. The basement became the favored, go-to location for neighborhood friends during the summers and weekends, for playing pool and ping pong while listening to music, creating a positive environment for building relationships and enhancing socialization skills. After the construction of the basement, Gregg observed his Uncle Melvin Fisher build the carport, front porch and backyard patio at his family home and was awestruck and inspired as to his craftsmanship. That is when he decided he wanted to build when he grew up. He took woodshop classes in junior high school and built a bookcase and other items for his parent’s home, which his mom still enjoys.

During this same period, his father had a strong interest in ensuring his sons learn and appreciate the value of money by earning it. Gregg had a paper route in Morningside Homes and during the early years on East Florida Street. He was a caddy at the Irvine Park Country Club, Greensboro’s largest golf course. He and his brother mowed lawns on the wealthy side of town. His father also purchased a shoeshine stand at the Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem Airport (airport) where Gregg and his brother alternated days during the summers and weekends to shine shoes. Being allowed to keep all their earnings, he rode his bike, on his day off from shining shoes to the African American Savings and Loan and deposited all the funds. He earned enough money to substantially cover the purchase of his first new car – a 1968 Corvette and his first year of college.

In his teen years, Gregg was scouted by two professional baseball teams and began taking flying lessons at the airport and completed all requirements before his eighteenth birthday. He was among the first groups of African Americans to attend Ben L. Smith High School. While there, he was the captain and quarterback of the varsity football team. He also played varsity basketball and was known to opt to dunk the basketball on what would be routine, fast-break lay-ups.

Gregg enrolled at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), graduating with a degree in Business Administration. While at NC A&T, Gregg worked for Eastern Airlines as its first African American Ticket Agent in the state of North Carolina. While at Eastern, he paid off the small lien on his Corvette and funded the balance of his college expenses. He enjoyed returning annually to Greensboro for “Aggie” homecoming celebrations (GHOE) to remain connected with former classmates and friends.

In 1973, he moved to Atlanta, GA and was employed as an Accountant in the City of Atlanta’s Procurement Department. There he received invaluable mentorship from his supervisor, who also emphasized how golf and business intersect. This experience sparked a longtime love of golf and his interest in working for himself. Following in his parent’s footsteps and relying on lessons learned as a young man, Gregg bravely decided to pursue entrepreneurship in 1975 and formed Carpets by Houston (currently Houston Flooring, a flooring and home renovation business). In the late 1980’s, Gregg also started Kings & Queens Limousine Service and operated it for several years alongside his Carpets by Houston business. Gregg always remained optimistic through economic shifts and constantly found new and innovative ways to thrive in business. He remained in business for 48 years until his transition to Glory.

Gregg became an avid and enthusiastic golfer and excelled at the sport. He created a golf tournament for the biennial Houston-Chambers Family Reunion with his cousin, Ernest Squire. As an already avid golfer, in the mid-1980’s, he joined and became an active and loyal member of the National Negro Golfers Association (NNGA) and because he was an exceptional golfer, he gave many members 2-3 strokes per side to make the round fair. His enjoyment of golf was only matched by a good game of cards that kept them up to the wee hours of the morning. Above all, he loved the camaraderie NNGA affords all members. When not playing golf or cards, Gregg never declined to support his NNGA brothers. A cornerstone of NNGA’s success is the fellowship experienced in traveling to other cities for golf outings. As a former President and long-time member, Gregg seldom missed an outing, and when he attended, he always brought his happy-go-lucky, trash talking, joke telling solid brother/friend presence. When Gregg entered a room, so did joy, laughter and celebration! His joy came from making sure everyone else was enjoying themselves. His heart was huge. Taking the lead from his nurturing, loving mother, he was generous - truly a giver, never a taker. He would give the shirt off of his back to those in need (and it would be Versace). His friends and family were always welcomed with open arms and an open door to his home. As his friend, Wade Nash, said, “Once Gregg became your friend, he was a friend for life.” Gregg went out of his way to treat his staff and customers with the utmost professionalism and respect while delivering a quality product to meet/exceed his customer’s expectations.

Gregg’s loving and generous spirit was even more consistent with his family than it was to others. He shared his faith in God with his siblings and close friends, along with his devotion to reading God’s Word in the mornings. He faithfully attended worship services and ministered to us in his own way, sharing wisdom from the Lord, and encouragement through what his siblings affectionately call Gregg-isms, often humorous and always enriching and thought provoking. Most importantly, despite whatever he may have meant to others, Gregg absolutely loved and adored his daughters Folana and Alexandria, his partner Rita May, his grandson Liam, and step-granddaughter Charleigh.

He was preceded in death by his father.

Gregg leaves to cherish his memory: loving daughters Folana L. Houston (Nick Arnold) and Alexandria Courtney Houston both of Atlanta, GA; 1-year old grandson Liam Nicholas Arnold of Atlanta, GA; loving partner of 14 years, Rita E. May of Atlanta, GA; loving mother Charlotte Elizabeth Fisher Houston of Salem, VA; siblings John Allen Houston (Charlotte) of San Diego, CA, Sharon Elizabeth Houston London (Tommy) of Salem, VA, Rita Doreen Houston of Atlanta GA, and Vera Laverne Houston Glover, of Raleigh, NC; nieces and nephews Michelle Dawnielle London of Denver, CO, John Allen Clark Houston (Mignon) of Miami, FL, Justin Scott London (Chelsea Rice) of Wilmington, NC, Olivia Elizabeth Glover and Lauren Jouise Glover of Raleigh, NC; great nieces and nephew: aunts 102 year-old Dorothy Almetta Houston Torrence of Newport News, VA and Mary Eliza Curtis of Danville, VA; Uncle Herman Ray Fisher (Vanessa Jordan) of Stamford, CT and a host of loving cousins, and wonderful friends and business associates.

Services: Thursday, February 2, 2023, Public Viewing and Book Sign-In will be 1:00-5:00pm and Wake with Family, 5:00-7:00pm, Murray Brothers Funeral Home, 1199 Utoy Springs Rd, SW, Atlanta, GA 30331.

Friday, February 3, 2023, Homegoing Service and Service of Committal with The Reverend Dr. Kevin Murriel officiating. 10:00am Visitation with the service to follow at 11:00am, Cascade United Methodist Church, 458 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30308.

Masks are required for all services please.

In his memory, the family asks in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to one of the following of your choosing: Houston Family Legacy Church, Third Creek AME Zion Church, 415 E Main St., Cleveland, NC 27013 Or National Negro Golf Association Make checks to: Napoleon Hornbuckle Golf Scholarship Foundation, 708 Lenox Lane, Atlanta, GA 30324.

The homegoing celebration can be viewed via Cascade United Methodist Church website; https://www.cascadeumc.org/.