
Eulogy for James Patrick Howard
09 Mar 2007I want to thank everyone for coming today and last night. The number of people who came show how many people Dad touched in his life.
I want to also tell a quick story about Dad. One winter break, I was home from college and was packing my bag to head back. Mom was taking me to the airport and Dad was getting ready for work. I had purchased a pack of new socks and Dad asked if he could have a pair and said he would mail them back to me.
I threw him a pair and Mom and I left. That night, the wastewater treatment plant flooded and 60,000 gallons of raw sewage leaked into one building. Dad waded through knee-deep untreated wastewater to hit the shut-off valve, saving the plant.
Dad called me in Maryland afterwards to say what happened and at the end of the story asked me, “Should I wash the socks before I send them back?”
The lesson we learn here is not about his humorous outlook on life, but that Dad was a giving man to everyone he met. And even in death, he continues to give so others may have a better life.