Howe was a larger-than-life figure, a force of effectiveness, fun, family, faith and friendship.
Howe was born on November 16, 1941 in Americus, Georgia and grew up in Albany, Georgia, the son of Charles Lewis Whitman and Louise Durham Whitman. He was the second of six children: Lewis, Philip, Patricia, Donald and Marilyn. Howe was named after his grandfather Howe Durham, who owned three junkyards, an early influence that gave his namesake an eye for creating value out of discarded things.
Howe started working at a hardware store when he was 12 and bought his first car at 13 (drivers licenses were apparently not strictly necessary in those days). Upon graduating from Albany High School in 1960, he convinced a local businessman to provide a work-study scholarship to Georgia Tech. He worked his way through college, including a stint at a carpet factory, completed his service in the United States Army, and graduated with a B.A. in Business from the University of Georgia in 1965. That same year he married the love of his life, Vicki Brisbois (also of Albany). His first job out of college was selling hams for Talmadge Farms. Within three years, he became vice president and helped sell the company.
Vicki suggested real estate as his next line of work. He landed a job with Crow, Carter & Associates in Atlanta, completing his first transaction in 1970. Many of his associates there would become dear friends and partners for over half a century. During the economic distress of the 1970s, his experience in the junkyard in Albany served him well. He found apartment developments that banks did not want to own and started renovating and restoring them. Joined by his brother, Don, he turned run-down apartments into stable communities. The new company was called Heritage Equities, which his daughter, Paige Merkle, joined and later his son-in-law, Vincent Merkle, joined as well.
In the 1990s he was shown a distressed property in Lakeland, Florida – a vacant 300,000-square-foot Sears Town and a dead shopping center. He bought the property and spent the next 10 years of his life working to restore it. He had a vision for the property that others had not seen, and the new Town Center thrived. He later turned an abandoned regional mall into a church building.
Howe loved Lakeland. The people were down-to-earth and hospitably embraced him and Vicki. He undertook many other projects in the Lakeland area, and made lifelong friendships with many Lakelanders.
Howe loved outdoor sports – especially water skiing, motorcycle riding, hunting and fishing with friends and family. He loved to design, make, and repair things in his woodshop and welding shop. He loved the mountains and Lake Burton. He would do anything to enable his family to pursue their passions. To be with him was to be in motion… building something, improving something. He was a masterful practical joker.
Howe was a lifelong church member but shied away from conspicuous displays of religiosity. He understood his need for Christ, and his faith grew strong as God surrounded him with lifelong friends and family members who were likewise seeking to follow Christ. He invested generously in many churches, ministries and schools, in particular, the Wilberforce School, a classical Christian school in Princeton, NJ. These institutions he invested in are part of his lasting legacy. His living legacy are the members of his family – his wife, Vicki Whitman, his two children Paige Merkle (Vincent) and Howe Whitman Jr (Brenda), seven grandchildren (Holt Merkle, Whitney Combs, Brooks Merkle, Howe Whitman III, Clara Whitman, Annie Whitman, and Virginia Whitman) and three great grandchildren (Blakely Combs, Hayes Combs, and an unborn Whitman child). Howe is also survived by his brother, Don Whitman, and sisters, Patricia Snelling and Marilyn Gibson. Special thanks to Johnny Daniel, Stan Daniel, and Michael Hill for their wonderful care for Howe during his illness.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to The Wilberforce School, Daughters against Alzheimers, or Samaritan’s Purse. (see links below)
