Daniel “Papa” Houle- 79, of Glocester, RI Passed away on January 9th, 2026 at The Miriam Hospital after a brief illness, with his family by his side. He was the beloved Husband of the late Karen (Owens) Houle for 49 years.
Born in Providence, RI he was the son of the late Eugene and Marie (Nimreau) Houle.
“Danny” served our country in the Navy as a Sea Bee where he was injured and earned a Purple Heart for his service. After his honorable discharge from the Navy, Dan felt compelled to continue to serve his community and joined the Harmony Fire Department as a volunteer for 20 years. In addition to his service, he worked at Landscape Plus and Richmond Sand and Gravel for several years as well as having his own company with his son.
Dan enjoyed the outdoors, mowing his “precious” lawn, working around his yard and going to Sunday breakfast with his friends. He would help anyone with anything. From May until October, Dan could be found working around at Camp Russell while enjoying the company of all the residents. A warm and kind man, he was a beacon of light for so many but one thing for sure is he absolutely loved his children and his grandchildren.
He leaves behind a sister, Patricia Radford of Millersville, MD, two sons, Michael Houle and his wife Dana Houle of Glocester, RI, Matthew Houle and Gayle Mooney of Glocester RI, and a daughter, Danielle Houle of Scituate, RI. He also leaves behind two sister-in-laws Jackie White of Greenville RI and Amy Raymond of Bradenton Florida, and several grandchildren whom he adored beyond words, Antonio Bailey, Averee Bailey, Colin Pyn, Aiden Bailey, RaeAnne Houle, John Daniel Houle, Jakob Kardan Houle, and Olivia and Dylan Mooney.
Dan also had many close friends he leaves behind; Jon Walsh, Paul Cimino, and Linda Koehler just to name a few. He is also pre deceased by his beloved brother in law Marshall Radford, nephew Eric Radford, his lifelong friend and best man Bill “Qui” Larson and his “third son” Sam Cote.
His funeral service and burial with Military Honors will be held Thursday January 15th, 2026 at 11am in the RI Veteran’s Cemetery, Exeter. Visitation will be held on Wednesday January 14th from 4pm to 7pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Harmony Fire District, 194 Putnam Pike, Glocester, RI 02814.