Howard Douglas passed away on May 4, 2018 at the age of 96. He was the loving husband of Mary for 37 years. The beloved father of David Douglas and step-father of Cynthia (Gerald) Baran, Margaret (Ron) Lien, and Henry (Donna) Kondrat. The cherished grandfather of Rachel (Brian Terbrack) Douglas, Steven (Jenny Ertman) Douglas, Jason (Christina) Baran, Jamie (Chris) Hosey, Kristen (Jason) Thibault, Jennifer (Erik) Ciebiera, Kari Lien, Kelly (Jim) Ford, Danielle Kondrat, and Matthew (Melanie) Kondrat. The caring great grandfather of Ryan, Evan, Sean, Paityn, Ellie, Scarlett, Sofie, Logan Ashlee, Easton, Hollyn, and Noah. He was also the dear uncle to many nieces and nephews.
Howard was preceded in death by his parents William and Anna Douglas and his siblings Altha (Ross) Shaw, Ervin Douglas, Willard (Violet) Douglas, Dorothy Degovery, Betty (Harry) Bowser, Euclid (Anna) Douglas, and Sherman (Thelma) Douglas.
Born in 1922, Howard Douglas lived a rich childhood with seven brothers and sisters (Altha, Ervin, Willard, Dorothy, Betty, Euclid and Sherman) and his parents of French ancestry Anna St Peirre and William Douglas, a carpenter.
Raised on Lillibridge Street he attended St Bernard School until 8th grade on the lower east side of Detroit. He spoke of using a wagon with steel wheels to haul iron to the scrap yard over railroad tracks to pick up some spending money and had a model T before he was 16.
That first model T was a labor of love, and he brought it to working order and finished it off by painting it to a gloss shine by hand. Howard also worked as a pin setter in a bowling alley and helped build bombers at the Willow Run facility to support the war effort during WWII.
His first marriage to Carolyn in 1951 gave him Carolyn’s son Kenneth and a healthy baby boy David Michael.
Working in many of the Detroit area shops he travelled as far as Flint earning and learning until he landed at GM Hydramatic for 26 years. He was a Gleason machine operator making precision gears. He met his second wife Mary at GM Hydramatic in the lunch line. They enjoyed going dancing and listening to music. They were married in December 1980. They were happily married for 37 years and Mary took very good care of her beloved husband. Even in his last weeks, they said prayers together every night.
He enjoyed working around the home had a knack for fixing things. He also enjoyed carefully maintaining his lawn. His workshops and tools were a source of pride and joy.
He loved and excelled at playing the Harmonica and was a member of a harmonica club. He knew hundreds of songs by Heart. He would perform at the harmonica club weekly as well as in a talent show at his granddaughter Rachel’s school. His beautiful harmonica playing brought smiles to family, friends, and strangers alike.
Retiring from GM in 1987, he was able to enjoy 30 years of retirement. Howard favored Hawaiian shirts and could often be seen proudly wearing them, especially in his favorite color, blue. Howard was an avid boxing fan and enjoyed following the careers of the great boxers throughout his life.
Howard & Mary pulled up stakes in Detroit in 2009 and found their peaceful dream home by the water in Sterling Heights. In his later years, Howard enjoyed spending time with family, watching Westerns, fishing, and bird watching.
The time he spent in Sterling Heights was often accompanied by his favorite saying “I never had it so good”. He repeated this often to his family, with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.
Howard passed away peacefully at home with his beloved wife by his side on May 4, 2018.
The family would like to extend a very special thank you to Donna Kondrat, Kari Lien and Diane Adamek for all of their help and support in taking care of Howard during these last few weeks.
Visitation for Howard will take place on Monday, May 7th, 2018 from 3 to 8pm at Resurrection Funeral Home, located at 40800 Hayes Road in Clinton Township. A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, May 8th, 2018 at 12:00 P.M. at Ss Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, 41233 Ryan Road in Sterling Heights. Friends may visit the church beginning at 11:00 A.M.