Billy Lee House

Bill House, long-time federal investigator, dies at 76 Bill House, a former agent with the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations and U.S. Customs Service and more recently a private investigator in New Mexico specializing in federal job applicant background checks for the departments of Justice, Defense and other agencies, died Friday at Memorial Medical Center of Las Cruces after a long illness. He was 76. Upon his retirement from active U.S. government service in 1998, closing out a nearly 10-year stint with the then- U.S. Custom Service as a enforcement liaison officer at the El Paso Intelligence Center, House was employing his gumshoe talents under his own business -- House Investigations -- based in Las Cruces. Over the years, his professional career starting out as young Air Force airman saw him stationed from locations as varied as Anchorage, AK., to Washington D.C., with one noteworthy assignment his being part of an OSI security detail sent to the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. House's 35 years of investigative work for federal and state agencies included six years beginning in 1968 with the OSI, where he did background checks of federal job applicants and employees, investigated discrimination complaints and conducted criminal probes. He retired from the Air Force in 1974 and went on to serve as an investigator for the state of Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. His time at the El Paso Intelligence Center until 1998 involved gather and disseminating information to the other federal agencies regarding drug smuggling and other criminal activity. House was born in Lumpkin, Ga., and never would lose his syrupy Southern accent and gentility, which often served to conceal his eye and ear for detail as an investigator. He was one of 10 children born to Scoville House and Minnie Louise House, both deceased. His tenacity as an investigator was surpassed only by his devotion to the Church of Christ, and his family. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Alda House of Las Cruces, his son Billy House of the Washington D.C. area, and daughter, Natalie Faulkner of Alabama. A son, Randal House of Portales, N.M., is deceased. He also is survived by grandchildren Brandon Faulkner of Florida; Benjamin Faulkner of Alabama; Natasha Medina of Las Cruces; Delaney House-Swift, Jackson Independence House Swift and Noah House Swift of Portales, N.M., and four great-grandchildren. House also is survived by three bothers