- Date Of Birth: June 26, 1940
- Date Of Death: September 29, 2020
- State: Massachusetts
John, D. Howard, 80, of Plymouth, died Tuesday, September 29, 2020, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Plymouth, from COVID 19. He was born June 26, 1940, in Boston, to the late Francis J. and Edith A. (Fontanezi) Howard. He was the devoted husband of the late Mary Howard. He was the loving father of Christine M. Ashman and her partner, Thomas Gatz, of Brookline, Jennifer A. Howard, of W. Jordan, Utah, John J. Howard, of Plymouth and Anthony R. Howard and his wife, Erin, of Brooklyn, NY. John is survived by his children, four grandchildren, Oliver, Bella, Lincoln and Cedric, and his sister, Frances Zakzewski, of Brockton. He is predeceased by his sister, Barbra Knowlton, and his brothers Joseph and Paul. John was a graduate of Roxbury Memorial High School. Before his marriage to Mary, in April, 1963, he served in the US Army, at Fort Lewis, Washington in the 2nd Recon 8th Cavalry. He was employed at General Dynamics shipyard in Quincy, MA, until its closure. He began work as a painter, and worked his way through several departments until he became a foreman of the paint department. He was proud of the fact that he was one of the last people to leave the yard. He worked for the Sisters of Divine Providence until his retirement. John was a skilled woodworker, and enjoyed remodeling his 170 year old home. In his later years he took up woodcarving, and his nutcrackers, growth charts, and nativity scenes were prized gifts. John loved to laugh. He enjoyed irreverent and slap-stick comedy. He laughed so hard at movies that his family preferred to watch them at home. John was a music lover with an eclectic music collection. Visitors to the house would hear YoYo Ma on one visit, Oklahoma! or Blondie on another. John’s other hobby was cooking. He often thanked his friends and neighbors for their kindness with a loaf of homemade bread, and a visit by the grandchildren was always marked with a pumpkin pie. John loved being a grandfather and regularly regaled people with tales of the grandchildren’s latest accomplishments or exploits.
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