Bill Houghton

William Mahlan Houghton, Sr, better known as the Cadillac man, died Friday, May 22, 2020 of natural causes.  Born in Eustis, FL, Bill was a lifelong resident of Ft Myers.  He began selling Cadillacs in 1947, when he was 19, at Hough Chevrolet Cadillac in downtown Ft Myers.  Bill knew everybody in town and always had a smile on his face. He sold cars to generations of local families and families that bought all their cars from Bill. (Like Coley Westbrook, who bought her very first car and her last car from Bill).  The Cadillac man won many sales awards and was made a lifetime member of the Cadillac Crest Club by General Motors. Bill retired from Val Ward Cadillac at the age of 88.

He graduated from Ft Myers High, where he met the love of his life, Mary Frances, in the 10^th grade.  They were married for 72 years before she passed away in 2019.  Bill was a family man and loved the water. He was an avid fisherman, spending many hours on his boat and in St James City where he spent lots of weekends and summers with his family.

Bill is survived by his three loving children, Martha Brookshire (David) of NY, NY, Mahlan Houghton Jr (Paula) of Ft Myers, Mark Houghton (Kim) of Ft Myers; seven grandchildren; as well as nine great-grandchildren.

Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Frances; daughter, Marcia Karen Houghton; parents, Effie and Lester Houghton; brother, Lester and sister, Eleanor Bowerman.

In light of the uncertainty and social distancing no services are planned at this time.

Bill taught so many people to fish over the years, the family is asking in lieu of flowers to make a donation in Bill’s name to: Captains for Clean Water at https://captainsforcleanwater.org/take-action/donate/

Mullins Memorial Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Fort Myers, is entrusted with final care.