Charles Howland
Bethalto | Save
Charles (Charlie) Henry Howland, 91 years young, went to be with the Lord on October 26, 2011 with his family by his side.
He came into this world April 26th, 1920 in Whiteside Missouri, the 2nd of five children born to Lena Bell (Day) Howland and William Riley Howland.
He married the former Evelyn Louise Spann on January 3rd, 1947. He was an avid sportsman and known throughout the country for the quality hunting dogs that he raised throughout his life. He was a past President of Laborers Local Union #338, where he was a 69 year member holding the oldest card in the Local Union at the time of his death. He was a strong advocate for the working man and participated in many hard fought battles to insure fair wages and benefits for his co-workers. He was particularly proud of helping to bring the Central Laborers Pension plan to the Wood River Local union. Even though the plan met stiff opposition early on; his persistence and vision for a better tomorrow will benefit area working class families for decades to come.
He will be fondly remembered for his great sense of humor, and story telling. Friends, Children, Grandchildren, and Great Grandchildren will remember stories of some strange events that occurred throughout this special man’s life such as:
Apparently as a young man he came toWoodRiverby tracking a rabbit in the snow and following it all the way toWoodRiver. The snow melted and he was not able to find his way back toCalhounCounty. Another version was when he fell out of an Apple Tree inCalhounCountyand rolled all the way toWoodRiver. There are stories of torrential rains so bad that fish were swimming upwards, and people having to get under their boats to keep from drowning. There were droughts so bad that bullfrogs reached five years old before they learned how to swim. He told of hills and pastures so steep inCalhounCountywhere he grew up as a boy that the livestock grew up with two legs shorter than the others. There are far too many more to mention, but were found equally delightful to hear by the young and old. It does not matter how he got here, and what strange things may or may not have happened in his life; his stories will be told from this generation to future generations to come, and we his family are forever thankful for the blessing of having him in our lives. For his family above all is his true legacy.
He will be lovingly missed and forever loved by those of us who survive, his loving wife Mrs. Evelyn Howland of Medora, IL; a sister, Mrs. Ruby Quiller of Mozier; daughters and spouses, Mrs. Charlene (Mike) Shaw of Rosewood Heights, Mrs. Marlene (George) Stanich of Rosewood Heights, Mrs. Judy (Abe) King of East Alton, Ms. Marilyn Grizzle of South Roxana, Mrs. Connie (Ron) Stone of Granite City and Mrs. Luanne (Jeff) Moody of Fosterburg; sons and spouses, Mr. Tom (Sheila) Howland of Bethalto, Mr. Danny (Kelly) Howland of Brighton and Mr. Michael (Kirstie) Howland of Godfrey eighteen grandchildren, Jasen Shaw, Tony King, Donnie House, Christina Stone, Kim Carstens, Heidi Hoskins, Chad Howland, Steve Stanich, Michael Stone, Melissa Stone, Drew Howland, Kayla Howland, Matt Moody, Miranda Stuller, Melanie Moody, Nicholas Howland, Ryan Howland, and Dylan Howland and fifteen great grandchildren, Mary Frances, Shelby, Lauren, Alex, Carter, Tyler, Brendon, Colton, Ashley, Amber, Chloe, Connor, Jacob, Luci, and Eli.
He was preceded in death by one brother, Marvin Howland, two sisters, Mary Lou Howland and Arie Jane (Howland) Jones, all fromCalhounCounty, a granddaughter Jennifer Christine Howland and grandson Colin Howland.
So from all of us who love you so much; it is not goodbye; it is we will see you later. For we know where you have gone and too have the promise of seeing you again one day.
Visitation will be from 1 to 5 pm Sunday, October 30, 2011 at Elias, Kallal, and Schaaf Funeral Home,727 E. Bethalto Blvd,Bethalto,IL. Funeral Services will be at the funeral home at 11 am Monday, October 31, 2011 with Rev. Chip Faulkner officiating.
Burial will follow atRoseLawnMemoryGardensin Bethalto.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society at http:/www.cancer.org, or the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation at http:/www.curemeso.org.
Online condolences and guestbook may be found at www.eliaskallalandschaaf.com
Elias, Kallal & Schaaf Funeral Home
