Leon Howell and I met as incoming graduate students at the U of AZ in the fall of 1968. I drove to Tucson from my home state, Maryland, having graduated from the U of MD that spring. I am an only child and this was my very first time away from home. My name, Gerson, means “stranger in a strange land” in Hebrew, and that’s exactly how I felt in my rented room in an elderly widow’s house near campus.

Leon and I connected. Aside from our common interest in experimental psychology, we also enjoyed folk music, “picking” at the guitar, and the beauty of nature. It was nice to find a new friend. It wasn’t long before Leon invited me over to his lovely home to meet his wife, Arlene, their 2 young daughters, Wanda and Tiffany, and their adorable Dachshund, Sigmund (as in Freud).

I will never forget the warmth of the Howell family. Arlene was always cooking amazingly good food and made sure I was well fed. The 5 of us went on a number of trips in their ‘57 Chevy station wagon. I was treated as a part of their beautiful family. I no longer felt alone, nor did I feel like a stranger any more.

My graduate career ended when I received an Army draft notice during my 2nd semester, which I was allowed to complete before returning home to do battle with my draft board. Leon & Arlene kept in touch by letters for awhile, but during my 3 year federal court battle, which I won at the appeals court level, I met a wonderful woman. After my court victory, I proposed and we married in 1972.

Soon after, I found that Leon had dropped out after completing everything but his PhD dissertation, as there were no faculty or research positions open to new PhD's in experimental psychology, so he took a teaching job at a junior college. I switched careers from psychology to computer science. We lost touch over the years.

I remember the hollow feeling I had when I learned of Leon’s death two years ago. He and his family were there for me when I needed friends the most. I still miss him.

Desert Rose Heather Cremation & Burial

Leon Howell

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Leon Grant Howell

10 octubre, 1940 – 29 julio, 2018

Desert Rose Heather Cremation & Burial

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Leon Grant Howell

10 octubre, 1940 – 29 julio, 2018

Desert Rose Heather Cremation & Burial

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