Meet Chaplain Donn Hougham

Hi, my name is Donn Hougham. I am a family man, with a beautiful wife who is my everything, with 5 kids, 6 grandkids, and 3 great grandkids. I was born in Virginia Beach, VA, went from there to Oklahoma, then Colorado, then California, and then Oregon, all by the age of 8 years old. I grew up in Eastern Oregon, Graduated High School in 1982 in Imbler, a very small school. Went to college at Eastern Oregon State College in LaGrande. I moved to Central Oregon in 1985; the Army brought me here for a job. My life has been blessed by many people, many things, but the two biggest things are my faith in the Lord and my amazing wife. I think I am a “jack of all trades but a master of none”. I enjoy cooking, BBQing, and woodworking. I love to build things and work with my hands. Our property is our “Heaven on Earth”; it continues to grow and flourish with many new builds. My wife mentions that “this would be nice to have”, and Bam, it usually gets built. Building and creating our home brings joy to me, my wife, and all who visit it. 

 I am a disabled Army Combat veteran who served our great country for 25 years. I have been all over the world in places that I enjoyed and places that I didn’t. I was deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2005. It was an experience that I never want to do again. It was during my deployment that I had several close calls where I shouldn’t be here today. Mortar rounds were hitting next to me, hitting the spot I was standing seconds after I moved, and my truck hitting an IED, and I was shot at on a daily basis. It got me thinking, why am I still here? I wasn’t a believer at that time, but after I got home, it was on my mind. In 2007, I started riding motorcycles with a veteran’s group. I think I was riding to run away from things. I just got divorced, lost a house, and hated my life. I was working full-time for the Oregon Army National Guard; I was a dual-status employee. It meant I was a civilian and full-time military at the same time. I was a mechanic and worked on heavy equipment, Tanks, Bradleys, Hummers, trucks, and Tow missiles. We worked on the total system, from small arms to main guns. It was another great experience. I was supposed to do it for a short time, but the days turned into months, then years, and bam, it was 25 years later that the Army said I was done and they medically discharged me in 2010.

During my running away time, I found the Rodehouse church. My life truly began then. I became a believer, was saved, and led to the Lord by 3 great men, Joe Fetters, Scot Lair, and Kinne Calloway. I had many people that I paid close attention to; they helped set my path by the example they showed me. I still wondered why I was still here on the earth. In 2009, I was in a serious motorcycle accident, broke my neck, back in 5 places, 4 ribs, shoulder, arm, and clavicle. I spent the next year in a halo. Not the halo that God places on you, but this one was screwed to my head. It was extremely miserable. Sitting on the couch for 10 months really got me thinking why I was here; the doctors said I should be dead or paralyzed. Yet I am, upright and moving. Maybe not as fast as I did before, but I am still here. So again, why was I still here, and why was I spared from being dead or paralyzed? So, I decided to dedicate my life to God. I was baptized in 2011, and my journey kept going. 

So why did I decide to become a chaplain? It was my time to give back to our community. I felt blessed, so I wanted to share my feelings and hope to bring joy to others. I was told that my gift is service. I love to cook and share it with others. I make breakfast at our house for the Rodehouse church many times, and each and every time it brings me joy knowing that I served those in my church. I try to volunteer every time there is a meal to be shared, a BBQ to be shared with our first responders. A small token of gratitude to all first responders for everything they do on a continual basis. I make sure I say, “Thank you” to them when I see them. It brings me joy knowing that I might put a smile on their face and some food in their belly. They deserve the world for all that they do.  

In my mind, I am just an ordinary man, a sinner who is trying to make a difference in this crazy world. I have been trying to go back to college and get a degree in Biblical theology, but it has been a struggle. Maybe that is God telling me that college isn’t my path. I feel I can minister to many people just by being me. So that is my path for now. I do enjoy being a Chaplain for COPSC. Even on the worst calls, I still feel that I am making a difference with the families that are in their darkest moment, and for the first responders,83 just for me to say Thank you and let them know that I am here for them. This is why I volunteered to be a Chaplain. To serve others with all my heart.