John H. Howell

Obituary Notice

John H. Howell, age 82, of Little Rock died, November 17, 2002. He was born in Panola County, Texas, on September 14, 1920, to H.J. and Lula Singleton Howell, attending public schools in Panola and Harrison Counties, Texas, and graduating from Elysian Fields, Texas High School in 1940. He married Janie Pippen the day after his high school graduation and went to work for Panola-Harrison Electric Company as an accounts receivable clerk. He served in the Army Air Force as a radio operator during World War II in the China/Burma/India Theater. After the war he went to work as a clerk at the United States Post Office in Marshall, Texas. In 1953 he was selected and sworn in as a United States Postal Inspector. After a 6 months training period in Washington, D.C., he domiciled in Little Rock, and he and his family moved there. In 1971 he and Janie moved to Memphis when he was promoted to Associate Chief Inspector for the United States Postal Service in the Memphis Division, and was promoted again a few years later to Assistant Regional Chief Inspector. His field of expertise was fraud. He was in charge of all inspectors in the eleven-state area of the Southern Region. He retired in 1977 with 31 years of service and moved with his wife back to Little Rock. John was a member of Pulaski Heights Baptist Church since 1954 with the exception of 6 years in Memphis, where he was an active member of Whitehaven Baptist Church. During his many years of service at Pulaski Heights Baptist he held 2 terms as Chairman of the Board of Deacons, Sunday school teacher, 10 years as head of Maintenance Committee, chairman of the committee that started the kindergarten and day care in early 1970.

John is predeceased by his wife Janie Pippen Howell who died in December of 1966 and one sister Dena Carrathers. He is survived by his two daughters; Dwala Howell Ralph of Little Rock, Angela Howell Rivera and husband William of Conroe, Texas, six sisters; Coretta Nix, Ouida Faye Whitis, Dorothy Hughes, Wanda Harrington, Patricia Irvin all of Longview, Texas, Geneva Lovil of Carthage, Texas, three grandchildren: Virginia Ralph Matthews and husband Robert of Memphis, John Haskell Edwards of Conroe, Texas, Sean Rivera, currently stationed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk and his wife Yasuko of Yokosuka, Japan, two great-grandchildren: John Howell Edwards and his mother Dawn Edwards of El Paso, Texas, and Janie Maria Matthews of Memphis.
There will be a graveside funeral service at 11 A.M. Wednesday at the Colonial Gardens Cemetery in Marshall, Texas. A memorial service will be held for Mr. Howell in Little Rock at a later date. Services under the direction of Ruebel Funeral Home.

Memorials should be made to Pulaski Heights Baptist Church or The National Parkinson's Foundation, PO Box 450 Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania 19006.