PAUL A. HOWARD

HAMPDEN and ENGLEWOOD, Fla. – Paul A. Howard, 84, of Sarasota and Englewood, Fla., died peacefully Nov. 20, 2006, with family by his side after a brief illness at a Sarasota, Fla., hospital. He was born July 21, 1922, in Bangor, the son of Herbert Roland Howard and Muriel (Mayo) Howard. Paul lived for many years in Hampden and Eddington before moving to Florida in 1988. He graduated from Brewer High School and attended Bentley College, Boston. In his earlier years, Paul enjoyed hunting and fishing with his father, as well as amateur boxing. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. In the early 1950s Paul began his career as a letter carrier in the Bangor Post Office, retiring in 1980 as chief accountant. He was also a part-time accountant for several Bangor area businesses, and a well-known part-time tax consultant. Paul was a long-time member of the Masons, the Shriners and the Elks. He spent many memorable summers with his family at their camps on Toddy Pond, Orland, and enjoyed gardening throughout his life. Paul was an avid golfer with several holes-in-one, and a champion cribbage player, winning the Florida state title in 2001. He was a knowledgeable, lifelong follower of the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins, often taking his children to Boston for games in the 1950s, when the trip was a daylong drive. He also enjoyed the New England Patriots and was a season ticket-holder during the inception of the University of Maine hockey program. When he and his first wife, Lyn, moved their family to Hampden in the early 1950s, he joined the Hampden Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday school. He was named “Father of the Year” by the town of Hampden in the mid-1950s, was a co-founder and president of Hampden Little League, president of the PTA, and a Boy Scout leader. After losing Lyn in car accident, he remarried in 1960 to Evelyn Degestrom and they became a family of seven. He was a member and past president of Penobscot Valley Country Club, Orono from the 1960s through the ’80s, where he and Evelyn immersed themselves in the golf scotch foursome and twilight leagues, and the social life. Paul and Evelyn had a passion for dancing every dance, while he sang his favorite oldies. They joined the East Orrington Congregational Church, where he served as a deacon. When they moved to Englewood, Fla., and their special Gasparilla Pines condo with its adjoining Wildflower Country Club, Paul’s penchant for detail and organization led him to the post of treasurer of their condo association for several years. He had recently moved to Sarasota, Fla. Paul was a mentor and a role model for many of us, and he taught us many things: to love life and have fun, to be responsible and do the right thing, to grieve and move on, to work hard and be a success. He was unique and colorful, compassionate and loving, generous and forthright. He will be especially remembered by his children and grandchildren for teaching them the song “The Preacher and The Bear.” He will be dearly and lovingly missed. Paul was predeceased by his parents; his first wife, Evelyn “Lyn” Kathryn (Kimball) Howard in 1958; his second wife, Evelyn (Beane) Degestrom Howard in 1997; and a son, James R. Degestrom, in 1993. He is survived by one sister, Constance Kendrick, and her husband, Alan, of Englewood, Fla.; two sons, Paul R. “Skip” Howard and his wife, Theresa Hainer, of Winterport and Arthur E. Howard and his wife, Courtney, of Sarasota, Fla.; two daughters, Ellen A. Howard of Holden and Kathryn J. Degestrom and her husband, Michael Hamilton, of Centerville, Mass.; six grandchildren, Heidi (Howard) Wyman and her husband, Jeff, of Exeter, N.H., Kirsten Howard and her husband, Orin Wilcox, of Springfield, Va., Paul A. Howard II of Arlington, Va., Andrew Howard and his wife, Sara (Hardiman) Howard, of Portsmouth, N.H., Heather (McGlauflin) Humbert and her husband, John Humbert, of Bucksport and Kerri Lyn Butler of Holden; four great-grandchildren, Ella and Evelyn Humbert of Bucksport, Wesley Wyman of Exeter, N.H., and Sela Howard of Portsmouth, N.H. He is also survived by his niece, Leslie Tuell and her husband, Peter Tuell and their children, Jacob “Zeb” and Lucas James, of Glenburn; and a cousin, Miles Howard and his wife, Thelma, of Englewood, Fla. Paul will also be dearly missed by his close friend of several years, Mary Jones, and her family of Sarasota, Fla., Joyce Greeley McDevitt of Winterport; and many dear friends in Maine and Florida. Memorial services and celebrations of Paul’s life will be held 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, at his former condo in Englewood, Fla., and 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at the East Orrington Congregational Church, Johnson Mill Road, Orrington, with the Rev. Robert Carlson officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Paul’s name to the East Orrington Congregational Church, 38 Johnson Mill Road, Orrington, ME 04474.