VASSALBORO – Charles Herbert “Chip” Howe IV, 59, passed away peacefully Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011, at his home, after a courageous battle with a rare neurological disease. He was born Sept. 16, 1951, in Rockland, to Charles Herbert Howe III and Phyllis Anne (Hubbart) Howe. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and later went on to study physics at the University of Maine, Orono. He married Jane Elizabeth Aiudi, Oct. 12, 1991. In high school, he was licensed by the Department of Commerce Weather Service and became the youngest weather observer in the U.S. Chip starting working in 1970 as the assistant downhill ski school director and director of the Nordic ski program at Squaw Mountain. He later served the state of Maine for more than 37 years in different positions. He worked as a watchman for the Forest Service on Bigelow Mountain. He joined the Maine State Police in 1974, and retired in 2005 as lieutenant and commanding officer of the training division for the state police. For many years he specialized in accident reconstruction and also oversaw the state police K-9 unit. He was named Trooper of the Year in 1983. When the Maine Criminal Justice Academy was relocated to Vassalboro, the new exercise room at the academy was dedicated in his honor. After retirement, he began working as a computer forensic examiner for the Maine State Police Computer Crimes lab. He received national recognition while working with the Computer Crimes Unit Task Force. Chip was a member of Bicycle Coalition of Maine. He held positions as the president of State and Provincial Police Academy Directors and chairman of New England State Police Administrators Conference. Chip was an award winning photographer, and an avid runner and skier. Chip will be remembered for his love of running, hiking, biking, fondness for travel in the Western U.S. and talent with photography. He will also be remembered for his determination, attention to detail, endurance and exceptional athletic ability, along with his ability to precisely instruct generations of law enforcement professionals across the U.S. He was known by his fellow officers and those he instructed and led as a good man. His family will remember him as a dedicated, kind, and compassionate son, husband, father, uncle, brother and grandfather. He was predeceased by two aunts, Virginia Delaney and Ruth Watt. He is survived by his wife, Jane Aiudi of Vassalboro; his daughters, Christine Howe and her husband, Dana Black, of Orland, and Rebecca Lebel and her husband, Richard, of Brooksville; his parents, Chick and Anne Howe of Thorndike; Jane’s children, Stephen Lepore and wife, Kelly, of Bangor, and Sarah McGuire her partner, Katrina O’Connor, of South China; a sister, Catherine Bright of Amarillo, Texas; grandchildren, Rory, Jade, Nicholas, Marshal, Breton, Oceania and Madelyn; several cousins, nieces and nephews. Visiting hours will be 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 16, at Plummer Funeral Home, 16 Pleasant St., Augusta. A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 17, at Maine Criminal Justice Academy, Vassalboro. Those who desire may send flowers or memorial contributions may be made to Bicycle Coalition of Maine, P.O. Box 5275, Augusta, ME 04332.
CHARLES HERBERT ‘CHIP’ HOWE IV
