WATERVILLE – Howard L. Koonce died May 10, 2007, after a long battle with emphy-sema. He was Feb. 3, 1932, in Afton, Okla., a son of Howard Marion and Helen (Mercer) Koonce. He attended schools in Arizona, California and Colorado, graduating from Grand Junction High School in 1949. He attended Dartmouth College, where he was a director of the Dartmouth Players; a member of the Experimental Theater group and worked at the campus radio station. After grad-uation from Dartmouth in 1953, Howard enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he was trained as a naval aviator and achieved the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. He was also certified as a commercial pilot and helicopter pilot. He married Dorothy Perry in 1957 and they lived in Pensacola, Fla. In 1959, they moved to Philadelphia to begin graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. After receiving his Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania, Howard taught at Colby College from 1963 to 1994, as professor of English and performing arts. During his tenure at Colby, he was instrumental in creating the Experimental Center for Coordinated Studies and founding the Department of Performing Arts. As an early faculty member of the Colby in London program, he spent a good part of each year in England organizing classes for students with British directors and actors. In addition to his academic work in theater, Howard was deeply involved in community and professional theater, in the capacity of actor, director and/or producer, for groups such as the Waterville Repertory Theater, Waterville Players, Belfast Maskers, Gaslight Players, Hallowell, Lewiston Public Theater and The Theater at Monmouth. He directed numerous musical productions at the Waterville Opera House. He was especially memorable as Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman, a role he played both in Waterville and Belfast. He was predeceased by his father, Howard M. Koonce; and his wife, Dorothy M. Koonce. He is survived by his mother, Helen Hennessey of Cleveland; two sons, Alexander E. Koonce and his wife, Dana Armstrong, of Redlands, Calif., and Howard N. Koonce and his wife, Gabrielle Gallucci, of Saco; three daughters, Myrna Koonce and her husband, Paul Saucier, of Brunswick, Kirsten Evans and her husband, Joseph, of Lawrence, Kan., and Jennifer Campbell and her husband, Greg, of Tulsa, Okla.; his longtime companion, Joyce Smith of Waterville; one brother, Joseph Koonce of Cleveland; two sisters, Helen Rice of Denton, Texas, and Marlene Graham of San Antonio; 10 grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. A graveside service for family and friends will be held 11 a.m. Monday, May 14, at Pine Grove Cemetery, Belgrade. Donations may be made in Howard’s memory to the American Lung Association of Maine, 122 State St., Augusta, ME 04330. Arrangements are with Gallant Funeral Home, 10 Elm St., Waterville.
HOWARD L. KOONCE
