Howard James Duarte

On Friday, March 18th, 2016, after a long and courageous 8-year battle with carcinoid cancer and its complications, God took Howard James Duarte by the hand and led him home to Heaven. Howard was born on June 18, 1937, in Oakland, CA to Jack and Evelyn Duarte. In 1945 the family moved to Uniontown, WA. He attended St. Boniface Catholic School and graduated from Colton High School in 1955. He joined the Navy a month later. His duties included encoding and decoding top secret messages for Admirals on 4 aircraft carriers: the USS Hornet, USS Hancock, USS Bon Homme Richard and the USS Ticonderoga. After his years in the service he became a deputy sheriff for the Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County. He experienced some threatening situations which changed his course. He became a letter carrier in 1964 for the Oakland Post Office. He later transferred to Gresham, Or in 1970. He was with the Gresham Post Office until his retirement in 1992. He went to work for Ameriflight, at both the Troutdale and Portland Airports, finally calling it quits in 2005. After living in Portland for 35 years, he and his wife Linda moved to Sandy in 2006. Howard was involved in the Knights of Columbus, serving as Grand Knight with the St. Henry’s chapter in 1973. He belonged to the Knights from 1970 until his death. It was an important part of his life and he made many long and trusted friends. One of his passions was card playing (poker was his favorite) and he especially enjoyed playing with family and friends.

He leaves behind a loving family that will miss him every day: his loving wife Linda; his children, son Steven Duarte; daughter Ana (Mark) Brady; step-children Gina (James) Dean; Shelley (Brian) Reimer; Jeff (Erin) Ashenfelter; grandchildren, Corey, Cody, Zack, Jake, Luke, Kaylee, Colton, Nicholas and 2 step-grandchildren, Michael and Samantha; and his sister Elaine Duarte.

He leaves us with his faith and belief in prayer. He watches us from Heaven now where he can look out for us.