Lewis Carl Howard

Lewis Carl Howard of Kalamazoo passed away peacefully on January 16, 2016. He was born in Kalamazoo on August 28, 1936 to the late Russel and Mabel (Ramstein) Howard. Lewis served two years in the army, returning home in 1957 to marry the love of his life Barbara J. Snyder in St. Joseph Catholic Church, where they were lifelong members. Lewie was a natural born entrepreneur. He was a real dynamo and at the same time, charismatic, a loving husband, father, and grandfather and a hard worker. At a young age he started working for the Postal Service for 40+ years. He had a natural balance. While he and Barb ran several trucking ventures, it was in the 1960’s that he bought his first building to start a business of public warehousing. His vision in this area was a success, with Barb by his side from the start. Sons Mike and Chris came into the business at an early age, getting first- hand knowledge and experience. In the 1980’s Lewie “retired”, with strong leadership and business sense they had been taught by their father, sons Mike and Chris stepped up to run the business. During his mock retirement, he continued to work on various other ventures and could be found at work every day of the week up until 2014. Lewie was an adventurous, generous and social soul. He loved traveling with his wife and family as much as time would allow. He and Barb were fortunate enough to visit some faraway places such as Russia, Siberia, New Zealand, China and Africa. Alaska was another favorite place especially his last trip with his children, their spouses, and nephew Tom, they were able to just let loose and enjoy; in all of his travels he always found time to visit the local casinos. He was an avid fisherman and hunter. Throughout the years, Lewie was a member of different social clubs including poker, fishing, transportation car clubs and the SCI, where he was able to tell tales of his adventures and become endeared to many people. Lewie was a one of a kind person and will be missed dearly. Lewie was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Barbara and two brothers, James and Eugene and his sister in law Betty. He is survived by his children, Michael (Nancy) Howard of Scotts, Christopher (Debra) Howard of Galesburg, Catherine (Gregory) Peck of Kalamazoo, Linda (Dana) Winchester of Richland; grandchildren, Lisa Melnik, Melanie Diefenbacher, Susan Wright, Carl, Ashley, Kevin Howard, Kristen Simonds, Gregory Peck, Jr, Daniel, Sarah, Bradley, Gregory, Kimberly Winchester; great-grandchildren, Allison, Jacob Melnick, Wyatt Wright, Karly, Kody Howard; sister in law; Margo Howard; many nieces and nephews and his dogs, Lily and Max; his friends/caregivers, Tiffany, Tonya, Sonya and Cindy. Friends will be received for visitation on Friday, January 22, 2016 2-4 & 6-8 pm at Redmond Funeral Home, 4100 S. Westnedge Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (269) 343-6156 where a Rosary will be recited at 7:30 pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday 10 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church with Rev. Msgr. Mike Hazard, Celebrant with a luncheon to follow. Memorials may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church or Comstock Community Center. www.redmondfuneralhomes.net