William Alfred Howe Photo

William Alfred Howe

Age: 85

Date of Death: February 08, 2022

Berkeley Heights, NJ

Death, at once prosaic and, as in the passing of William Alfred Howe, 85, on February 8, 2022 to those that knew him, profound. The son of a son of a coal miner who rose to the top of his chosen field, found love at first sight, was the first in his family to attend college and live longer than any of his ancestors, Bill often expressed he felt as blessed as George Bailey from his favorite film “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Bill was born in Blakely, PA, January 23, 1937, where his father Russell Howe worked the anthracite mines since age 11. But nearly a year old, he grew up in Linden, NJ, after the family joined a migration to Union County, where farmlands were quickly converting to factories. His mother, Margaret Beynon Howe, a devout Methodist nurtured Bill into an equitable man, but his nature was that of a prankster and lover of quips. In elementary school he hocked his mother’s prescription pills to an unwitting classmate as Mexican jumping beans. In his teens, pulled over by a policeman for going the wrong way down a one-way street while out cruising with friends, they deadpanned: “But officer, we’re only going one way.” Reminisced a childhood friend: “Bill was a semi wild child.” Bill joined his father on the assembly lines of General Motors’ Linden plant, which hammered home the importance of continuing his education. But he next joined the Army, volunteering early during that post Korean war period of compulsory conscription. It was only for two years, much of it spent in Munich - not bad for a 19-year-old in the beer capital of the world, as he put it - but the subject remained a lifelong obsession. At family gatherings, he and his younger brother Bruce, himself a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division, would animatedly discuss war history and strategy as if they were a couple of decorated generals. Upon his return to Linden, Bill’s best friend set him up on a double date. He was awestruck in that soda fountain, quickly playing footsies under the table, only with his friend’s date. No hard feelings, the four remained fast friends, and when Bill picked up Carole at her home on their first official date and she coyly came down the stairs in a white dress, he often recalled that defining moment. That white dress. The gomer from Linden promised to make good to the college-educated Maplewood girl, whose parents themselves were both UPenn graduates, and they married 19 months later. Inculcated with the Great Depression-hardened pragmatism of his parents, Bill chose to study accounting at Rutgers, graduating in 1962, never guessing he’d be asked to return 27 years to deliver a commencement speech to an accounting class. His career as a C.P.A began with Price Waterhouse and he soon moved into healthcare, earning an M.B.A. in Health Care Administration from Baruch College in 1982. He served as Administrator for Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead for five years as well as Administrator and CEO of Fair Oaks Hospital in Summit for more than 20 years. Bill was also an entrepreneur, co-owning REACH Inc, an employee assistance program based in Summit, and later co-owning Applegarth Care center, a nursing facility in Monroe township (now known as The Gardens at Monroe). Notable in his career was advancement opportunities he declined, not wanting to uproot the family, enjoying calling Berkeley Heights home for 53 years. Bill was past president of the Summit Chamber of Commerce and Kiwanis Club, on the board of directors of the Summit Federal Savings and Loan Association, treasurer of the Summit Area YMCA, and treasurer of Westminister Presbyterian Church in Berkeley Heights. Bill was a faithful reader, grappling with the Bible in his later years and more than once recalled Jesus’ quote: “The poor you will always have with you.” He truly lamented the inevitability of inequality. Bill enjoyed fellowship, finding it in both golf and poker. The neighborhood poker group was cut short by Covid two years before reaching its 50th anniversary. Bill had a vast interest in all things, including history, travel, language and people. Family holidays were infamous for morphing into ‘wild goose chases’, like when a day trip to Long Beach Island detoured into searching, unsuccessfully, lost for hours in the Pine Barrens, for the monument at the crash site of “The Lindbergh of Mexico.” Sundays were for the New York Times crossword puzzle and many who knew him either admired or teased him for his vocabulary. “When BilI spoke you needed to get out the dictionary,” said a fellow church finance committee member. In a caricature drawing that was a parting gift from the staff at Fair Oaks, he’s lampooned with a word bubble: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. If legacy is one’s influence, Dad’s sons became an Army Colonel (Russell Howe and his wife, Allison of Ballston Spa, New York); golf course superintendent (Rodger Howe and his partner Juana Zaragoza of Manasquan); and expatriate journalist and entrepreneur (Kenneth Howe and his wife Rebecca of Hong Kong). Pop Pop had said his final wish was to see his grandchildren find their way in the world. Both grandsons, Nicolas and William Howe, hold dual university degrees in math and computers, and one, coincidence or not, is a programmer in the defense industry in yet another military iteration. His granddaughter, Laura Howe is currently in university, studying psychology and interested in mental health. The patriarch’s seat at the head of the dining table remains empty at meals, a military tradition to honor those who have fallen. At a recent dinner, his granddaughter consoles his wife and takes her hand, where Bill’s wedding ring of 59 years now rests next to Carole’s. “Don’t feel sad Nana. Winnie the Pooh says, ‘How lucky we are to have known someone who makes saying goodbye so hard.’” The family will hold a private memorial at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to your favorite charity. As there is no available online guestbook, please feel free to email Carole Howe at carbilhowe@verizon.net.