Howard E. Caler

Howard was born and spent most of his childhood in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He was born legally blind and was believed to have been the first child to have had multiple cataract eye surgeries. After the procedures he regained some of his sight, but lost it completely in his adult years. While in elementary school, he was active in the Boy Scout program. While attending high school he played classical music on the piano. The Caler family moved to the Los Angeles area at about 1941. Howard made the trip from Pennsylvania to California on a motorcycle with his little sister, Mildred. Horse riding became a passion for him and he had the opportunity to ride on a horse, with other blind boys, in a parade down Hollywood Boulevard. He later became active on a bowling team at the Light House for the Blind in San Bernardino, California. In 1960, Howard met Cindy while taking night classes at San Bernardino High School and in 1963 they were married. Howard was later accepted into the Business Enterprise Training Program and earned his first manager’s position at the cafeteria in the Stanford Research building located in Pasadena, California. In 1965, Howard and Cindy gave birth to their daughter Terri. They moved to San Diego and he took over the management of the cafeteria in the San Diego State Building. In 1969, they adopted their other daughter, Cristal. Howard was an active member of the California Council of the Blind, the American Council of the Blind and the Blind Community Center of San Diego. An activity he enjoyed was riding with others in the tandem bike program that was sponsored by the San Diego Parks and Recreation Department. In1972, he received his first guide dog, Princess, a German Shepherd. In 1976 he started working as a Government Service employee and spent 23 years as a Telephone Contact Representative for the Social Security Administration. He retired in1999 and spent retirement reading books, and socializing with friends and family.