Stephen Alan Howard

Stephen Alan Howard, age 77 of Marlborough, Massachusetts passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday December 28, 2025 after a long illness.

Born in Glendale, California, Stephen was the son of the late Royce Fant Howard and Agnes Mildred Bailey. He was raised in West Covina, California and was a graduate of West Covina High School with the Class of 1966. While in high school he was a photographer for the school’s sports program. He was also a member of debate teams at both the school and regional levels, and went on to win awards at the state level. Close to the Pacific Coast and his cherished Three Arch Bay, Stephen as a teen was drawn to surfing and sailing, the latter turning into a lifelong passion. Stephen attended Claremont Men’s College where in 1970 he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics cum laude and was named to the Dean’s List. He spent a particularly formative junior year at the London School of Economics, absorbed in his studies when he was not on the River Thames racing with the LSE Sailing Club.

Stephen’s early years after college were spent in Berkeley, California, where he worked several summers as a counselor for the Berkeley YMCA’s Day Camp, later becoming the director. Believing in the importance of free play, he led frequent field trips on which young campers could enjoy the outdoors. In 1973, Stephen drove his outfitted Volkswagen bus across the country to live in the Boston area. He taught mathematics and science at the Warehouse Cooperative School, and later taught those subjects in the Arlington, Massachusetts public schools.

Stephen shifted careers to the computer industry in 1981, beginning a 35-year career at Digital Equipment Corporation through its acquisition by Compaq Computer and later Hewlett Packard. His work in marketing and business development spanned some of computing's most transformative technologies, and as he moved into senior management he was involved leading teams through alliance development and complex corporate integrations. Stephen was at DEC during the rise and dominance of the so-called “mini-computer”originally designed and manufactured by the company, and at Compaq during early innovations in microprocessor design. He was instrumental in forging key collaborations between Compaq and Intel in this era. Later at HP, Stephen’s group was responsible for the partnership, engineering-integration and marketing of NVIDIA-enabled supercomputers.

Stephen took many business trips in the US and abroad, and he was never one to miss an opportunity to combine business and pleasure. While attending a trade show near Cannes, Stephen and his colleagues—ever resourceful—pooled their per diems to rent a sailboat as lodging, stealing away to sail the Mediterranean during off hours. This pleasure living aboard was repeated on Lake Geneva while Stephen attended business meetings there.

Much like his ethos running the summer camp, Stephen made room for fun in his life. He learned to play the fiddle, enjoyed biking and golfed for years with his time-honored Full Moon Golf Classic league. He took pleasure in birdwatching, beekeeping and fly fishing. He loved to cook. As a father, he wanted to introduce his daughters to what he loved and how to enjoy life, planning family trips and vacation destinations with that wish. Perhaps Stephen’s greatest and deepest joy beyond family was sailing. Over many summers he and his long-time boating partners cruised the beloved Massachusetts and Maine coastal waterways, Long Island Sound and points beyond.

Stephen is survived by his loving wife of 39 years Catherine "Kitty" Howard, as well as his children Karen and her husband Michael DeCarlo of Petaluma, California and Lisa Howard of San Francisco, California. He was the brother of Teri Nelson and the proud grandfather of Dominic and Nora DeCarlo.

Stephen’s Memorial Service will be held at the Warren Conference Center located at 529 Chestnut Street in Ashland, Massachusetts on Saturday, February 7, at 3:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, Stephen's memory can be honored through donations to the YMCA of the East Bay in Berkeley, California. https://www.ymcaeastbay.org/donate. On the site, kindly indicate support for the Early Childhood Impact Program.

Arrangements are in the care of Duckett - J.S. Waterman & Sons Home of Memorial Tribute, 656 Boston Post Road (Rt. 20) SUDBURY, Massachusetts 01776.