Howard was born on April 23, 1928, in Miller County, Missouri, the third of four children born to James Elmer and Frances Kinder Karr. After the loss of his mother when Howard was 8, his father remarried and the family instantly gained three more siblings and soon another sister. Howard was raised on a farm in the Ozarks during the Great Depression, although he said they didn't know they were poor!
At Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, Missouri, in 1946 Howard met a pretty city girl, Dawanda Jane Hutchison from Kansas City. They were married in 1948, and bore two daughters and three sons. As an ordained minister, Howard pastored a number of small churches, the latest being Mt Zion Baptist Church near Warrensburg, Missouri, where he faithfully preached the gospel for three decades. Howard also worked for Farmland Industries (Co-Op) in Kansas City as an accountant and executive. Howard and Dawanda loved camping with their kids and later with grandkids. In recent years he was a founding member of Faith Baptist Church in Smithville, Missouri.
Howard was a faithful husband through 71 years of marriage , a good father and grandfather, and an unfailing provider. He was preceded in death by his wife and one son, and is survived by two daughters, two sons, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A visitation for Howard will be held Monday, December 27, 2021 at 10:00 AM at Newcomer's White Chapel Funeral Home, 6600 NE Antioch Rd., Gladstone, MO 64119. A celebration of life will occur Monday, December 27, 2021 at 11:00 AM, 6600 NE Antioch Rd., Gladstone, MO 64119. A committal service will occur at White Chapel Cemetery, 6600 NE Antioch Rd., Gladstone, MO 64119.
Contributions in Howard's memory may be made to Faith Baptist Church , 14458 N US Hwy 169, Smithville, MO 64089 US.
