WILLIAM EDWARD "BILL" HOWARD JR.
Aug. 11, 1927-Dec. 16, 2012
William Edward "Bill" Howard Jr., Goldsboro, passed away peacefully at Kitty Askins Hospice Center in Goldsboro Sunday afternoon, Dec. 16, 2012, with his loving daughter at his side.
Mr. Howard was a born Aug. 11, 1927, in Albemarle, and was the son of William E. Howard and Daisy Howard.
He graduated from Albemarle High School, and then joined the United States Navy, serving his country from 1944 to 1945 at the end of World War II.
He attended North Carolina State, and began his career as an engineer in civil service in 1949 with NACA then NASA, where he worked on the early space program with many test pilots and famous astronauts.
He transferred to Civil Engineering at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in 1969 so his family could move to Kinston to be close to his wife's family. He retired from a long career of 38 years in 1987.
He met his wife of 52 years, Elizabeth Rouse Howard, in 1954 in Topsail Beach, and they married May 27, 1956.
She preceded him in death in June 2008.
The Howards lived in Newport News, Va., until 1969, when they moved to Kinston and then moved to Goldsboro in 2006 to be near their daughter and her family.
Mr. Howard was a lifelong Presbyterian, most recently a member of First Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Howard was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, and very proud of his children and grandchildren and their accomplishments. He encouraged them to strive for a good education and to enjoy the outdoors. He passed along his enjoyment of the North Carolina Coast, fishing and a good golf game.
His greatest joy in recent years was spending time with his grandchildren. One of his proudest days was attending the college graduation of his two granddaughters in May 2009 in Chapel Hill.
He was blessed with a good long life.
He is survived by his loving family, his son, William Allen Howard and his wife, Debbie, of Raleigh and their daughters, Caroline and Katherine, and his daughter, Mary Howard Bartlett and her husband, Gary, of Goldsboro and their son, Will.
The family will celebrate his life with a graveside service at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Kinston at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, with the Rev. Dr. Frederick Clarke officiating.
The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday evening at the home of his daughter and son-in-law in Goldsboro.
The family wishes to express its heart filled appreciation to Dr. Cipriani and the staff at Kitty Askins Hospice Center for their loving and compassionate care, and especially to his care providers, Gwen and Wanda.
The family requests memorials to the expansion fund of Kitty Askins Hospice Center or the capital campaign of Wayne Country Day School in Goldsboro.
Arrangements are by Edwards Funeral Home in Kinston.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on December 18, 2012 1:47 PM