It’s unfortunate but natural that you remember more about siblings closer to your own age. The younger ones tend to be a little disconnected in memory. Sadly, my recall of a lot of incidents about John Howard is not too good. Named after our uncle Howard, I do remember that he was a good kid and never got into trouble.

John Howard’s keen intelligence was not well reflected in school grades and that probably was the reason he didn’t proceed on to college. But his later success in business made clear his abilities and talents. He dated a good looking young lady in his later teens and they both became avid Elvis Presley fans. When they married they raised an outstanding family.

John Howard was careful in his duties as a father and husband. He made sure that church on Sundays was not overlooked even if the family was traveling. On several occasions when they happened to come through Birmingham on an overnight stay, if it was on a weekend, they took care to find a local church where they could attend services on Sunday.

His interpersonal skills and gregarious manner made him stand out. No one doubted his sincerity and friendliness. Never was he heard to slander anyone.

Perhaps the greatest testimonial of John Howard’s qualities is the degree of grief felt by all, especially his wife Rosie and their children Mike, Tammy and Danny when
he died at the untimely age of 58. He has surely been missed.