HANOVER – James Sidney Howe, 61, of Howard Pond Road, died Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007, at Exeter Hospital, Exeter, N.H. Jim was born Jan. 11, 1946, and grew up on Stillwater Avenue, Old Town. He graduated in 1964 from Old Town High School. He started playing the upright bass in sixth grade and had to sit on a stool to reach the strings. He fell in love with jazz music and played in many local jazz groups throughout high school. Jim went on to study music at the University of Maine in Orono, where he gained recognition as a consummate musician and bass player, while performing with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. After college, Jim moved his family to the Boston area in 1972, to play with the Tony Bruno Orchestra. As a member of the orchestra, he played in and around the Boston area, and then at Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, N.H., during the summer months for many years. He taught band and music classes at Parkside Junior High School, Manchester, N.H., in the late 1970s and early 1980s, where he instilled an appreciation of jazz music in many young people. It was during this time he also began a long career as a renowned musician in the Seacoast area and helped launch the improvisational-style jazz scene into a popular music venue for thousands of fans of jazz music. He co-founded the Tommy Gallant Trio, which was undeniably the most accomplished and influential jazz group that blessed the Seacoast area during the 1980s and 1990s. After Tommy Gallant died, Jim formed the Jim Howe Trio to continue on with Tommy’s legacy. As the bassist for both trios, he enjoyed 26 years as a Sunday Jazz at the Press Room mainstay. After a move to Portsmouth, N.H., in 1982, he flourished not only as a musician, but as a professional photographer. The Jim Howe Photography Studio was a fixture on State Street for many years and was a hub of constant activity for his family, friends and jazz aficionados. His artistic and creative talents were his gifts to his daughter, “Cheech,” an avid photographer, and they spent many afternoons on “photo safaris.” After an illness in the spring of 2000, Jim closed his photography studio and moved to his beloved cabin in the woods of Hanover, where he spent time splitting wood and working on “the compound,” with his trusted canine companions, who were right by his side. His most cherished times were spent hunting and fishing with his sons, whom he nicknamed Trailblazer and Pathfinder. When his dear grandchildren arrived at camp to hang out with “Bumpa,” there was always a twinkle in his eye as they held a special place in his heart. Thanksgivings at Jim’s were festive and legendary. Jim watched, beaming with pride, as his extended family sat around a large picnic table in his tiny two-room cabin and enjoyed his famous fried turkeys. Weekends he spent traveling to Portsmouth, N.H., to play the music he loved so much and teaching young bass musicians to finesse the strings jazz-style at Phillips Exeter Academy. As he always said of his music, “Jazz lives.” May the music of his life live on in all who knew and loved him. Jim was predeceased by his parents, W. Sidney Howe and Dorothy Frost Howe; and his sister, Barbie Urtecho. Jim is survived by his sister, Elizabeth “Scottie” Bell and her husband, James Bell; his brother, Robert Howe and his wife, Paula St. Peter; the mother of his children, Deidre Wheelock; his daughter, Cheryl Howe Moore and her husband, Matthew Moore; his son, Michael Howe and wife, Tracy Shejen; his son, Geoffrey Howe and his wife, Tammy Howe; his four grandchildren, Sean Day, Micayla Howe, and Geoffrey and Joshua Howe; his niece, Elizabeth Urtecho Aarts and her husband, Erik Aarts; his niece, Dr. Jacqueline Urtecho; his nieces and nephews, Rhonda Stowell and Robert Stowell, Sean Bell and Shay Bell; his great-nieces and great-nephew, Nicole, Andrew and Emily Aarts; and his best friend and companion, Gunner. A celebration of Jim’s life will be held 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, at Jim’s cabin in the woods, Howard Pond Road, Hanover, for family and close friends. After the ceremony there will be a reception at Liz and Eric Aarts home, Howard Pond Road. As dad requested, it will be party time. A concert will be held at a later date to celebrate his life as a musician. In lieu of flowers, family members request that donations be made to the Tommy Gallant Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to University of New Hampshire students who have the potential to reach a high level of achieve-ment as performers. Memorial donations should be made out to UNH Foundation, Tommy Gallant Scholarship Fund, in the memo section of the check, Jennifer Higgins, UNH Foundation, Elliott Alumni Center, 9 Edgewood Road, Durham, NH 03824. Online condolences may be made at www.jspelkeyfuneralhome.com
JAMES SIDNEY HOWE
