Donna Houston knew her husband’s mind was deteriorating when the college football Hall of Famer and Cleveland Browns All-Pro known as “Mr.
Dependable” struggled to manage his money. A two-way player who won titles in high school, college and the pros, Jim Houston had easily transitioned into the business world when his football career was over.
He sold life insurance. Handled securities. Ran a local machine company. Co-owned a gas station and car wash. And by 1998, he was broke. “Executive function, that was really gone,” Donna Houston said. “I started noticing things and I remember saying to him, ‘It’s like you have no common sense.’” Already diagnosed with ALS and mixed dementia, Jim Houston was still worried enough about what else was