Jack was born in Balboa, US Canal Zone (now Panama) on December 14, 1925, the son of the late Claude S. Howell and late Vera J. Howell. There in the 6th grade he met the love of his life Margaret (Lucille) Larsen, and they married in 1946. During their 71 years of marriage, they reared five children while living in Portsmouth (VA), Charleston (SC), New Orleans (LA), Wilmington (NC), Northern Virginia and Virginia Beach.
Jack attended the New York State Maritime Academy and graduated in 1946. He then began a successful career working in the Merchant Marine, Navy, and Coast Guard, from which he retired in 1980 as Captain.
After Jack lost Lucille in 2017, he sold his Virginia Beach home and moved to an apartment with a view of the Chesapeake Bay and the open water he always loved.
Jack will forever be remembered by his family as an honorable father who provided for all of his wife’s and children’s needs. His friends will remember him for his social nature and interesting life stories.
He is survived by his five children: Marilyn, Cheryl Parker, Ken (Kathy), Dave (Kathy Andersen), and Pam Wilgus (Bill). Also surviving are three grandchildren: Chris Parker, Ashley (Mike) Twardy and Nick Howell along with one great grandson, Adam Twardy.
The family gives a special thank you to all of the caregivers of Blessing Hands and Westminster Canterbury at Home who served Jack while he was under hospice care.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 from 3-7PM at Woodlawn Funeral Home, 6329 E. Virginia Beach Blvd, Norfolk, Virginia 23502. The funeral service will be held at the same location at 1PM on Thursday, January 11, followed by a reception.
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