Howard Noel Seckler

Howard N. Seckler passed away peacefully on December 10, 2022 at Willow Brook Communities in Delaware, Ohio, just two weeks shy of his 98th birthday. He was born in the Bronx, New York on December 24, 1924.

His parents Jack (1895 – 1968) and Gus (1894-1993) instilled in him a strong character and integrity. Howard’s loyalty to New York sports teams began early. His lifelong love of the New York Yankees was stoked, taking the subway with his dad to Sunday doubleheaders.

Always humble, Howard described himself as a mediocre student at Dewitt Clinton High School and Columbia University. That changed during his stint in the United States Navy at the end of World War II. He excelled in his studies of electrical engineering on a ship based in the Philippines. He returned to earn his masters at Columbia University, became a member of Tau Beta Phi, and was recruited by Bell Telephone Laboratories for a 45-year career. He led teams that created the first patents on telephone switching technology.

Every morning, he and his co-workers would drive a Buick Packard to the Holmdel New Jersey Office. Bell Labs served as the North Star for his family on adventures from NYC to suburban Chicago, and finally settling in Worthington, Ohio in 1970.

He married Connie Simon (1928-2015) in 1949 and started a family in the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City. It was truly a leap of faith for Connie to transition from big city life to the Columbus, Ohio area in the 1970s.

Howard also cared deeply about public service, from becoming an American Red Cross Board Member to its longest living President, Emeritus. He proudly donned a hard hat and a shovel with his Red Cross colleagues in 1981 to break ground and expand on the East Broad Street Building, broadcast live on Good Morning America.

Howard lived a big life and was truly one-of-a-kind. He was a family man who was witty and charming, bringing genuine delight to the people in his life. He loved dining out, sports, and travel. He was a gentleman of few words, but when he spoke, his words were golden.

Howard is survived by his daughters Barbara and Valerie Seckler, his sister Gloria Altman (Irwin Altman), his daughter-in-law Susan Dlouhy and her mother Peg Dlouhy, and nephews David Altman (Judith Jerome) and Bill Altman (Carlyn Liberman). He is also survived by friends, the Bob Evans crew, and Clubview Boulevard neighbors who made his journey in later life all the richer and happier.

Please in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Howard’s honor to the Greater Columbus Chapter of the Ohio Red Cross, 995 East Broad St., Columbus, OH 43205.

A celebration of life will be held on Friday, December 16, 2022, from 4:30pm to 7:00pm at the Worthington Shoedinger Funeral Home, 6699 N. High St., Worthington, OH 43085.