Lois Jean Howard

Lois Jean (“Jeanie”) Howard of Hedgesville, West Virginia, passed away in Columbia, Maryland, at the age of 77. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Thomas Howard; children Katherine Yemelyanov (Konstantin), Kelly Kesler (Parks), and Daniel; and grandchildren Timothy, PJ, Joseph, Max, Thomas, and Madelynn. She is also survived by a sister, Margie Barker, as well as cousins Art and Dennis (Sharon) Bundy and close family friend Joey (Popovich) Jones. In addition, she is survived by brother-in-law Richard (Irene) Howard; niece Lori (Howard) Brown; nephews Patrick and Matthew (Maureen) Howard, Timothy (Kris) Howard, and William (Beth) and Richard (Traci) Barker; and numerous grand-nieces and grand-nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph (2019) and Madeline (1989) Looman of Mannington, West Virginia; her beloved aunts Patty Looman (2012) and Alice Bundy (2005); and close family friend Bea Popovich (2000).

Jeanie was born the oldest of two daughters in Hutchinson, West Virginia. She grew up in Mannington, West Virginia. From grade school on, she was seldom seen without her eyeglasses and a pile of books close at hand. A Girl Scout and talented clarinetist, Jeanie represented Mannington at West Virginia Girls State in 1964 and served as the 1965 Mannington Fair Queen. After graduating from Mannington High School in 1965, she moved to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to attend Central Michigan University (CMU).

Jeanie married Thomas Howard of Essexville, Michigan, in 1968. Their daughters Katherine and Kelly were born in 1970 and 1974, followed by son Daniel in 1978. Shortly after Daniel’s birth, the family relocated to the West Coast from Michigan, making new homes in South California and then the Pacific Northwest before returning to Michigan in 1981. Such moves would prove frequent as Tom’s business career progressed.

In the first 50 years of their marriage, Tom and Jeanie would make 11 major household moves throughout the US, living in 10 different houses in eight states. Jeanie carried the family through each move, making it possible for her husband to adjust to each new professional role and new location while she packed out the old house and readied the kids’ school and medical records for transfer. Jeanie carried the family through each move, making it possible for her husband to adjust to each new professional role and new location while she packed out the old house and readied the kids’ school and medical records for transfer. All this required maintaining order in cramped temporary quarters and keeping the kids current with their studies during their transition between schools. Though she missed far-away friends and family at times, Jeanie made lasting friendships during their West Coast sojourn. She particularly enjoyed introducing the children to Disneyland. (During later moves to Florida, she would enjoy introducing her grandchildren to Disney World.)

After earning a BA in English from CMU, Jeanie taught middle school English in Howell, Michigan. She received an MA in English Literature in 1975 from Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Jeanie dedicated the next several years to raising her children, advocating for their educational needs, and managing their busy household through multiple family moves. She resumed teaching part-time in 1984, leading adult education classes for Ypsilanti Public Schools and working in an academic support center helping EMU students with their English classes. With later moves, Jeanie would also teach writing classes at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland; Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia; and Florida State College of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida.

While in Ypsilanti, Jeanie volunteered with the Huron Valley Girl Scout Council, serving for many years as a Girl Scout troop leader. She was also an active member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). In addition, at a time when local school days had been shortened due to lack of funding, Jeanie worked with Parent-Teacher Associations at the children’s schools and the school board to organize enrichment activities that would supplement reduced school offerings in topics like geography and art. One event she coordinated was a heritage fair where students and community members could share aspects of their culture and traditions with each other. With the help of her Aunt Patty, Jeanie made sure that traditional Appalachian culture was represented at the event with clogging and dulcimer music.

In 1986, Tom accepted a position with CSX in Baltimore, Maryland. Tom’s subsequent assignments in the organization took Jeanie, Tom, and Daniel to Florida in 1992 and later to Kentucky. As a West Virginian, Jeanie particularly enjoyed attending the company’s annual Coal Rodeo at the Greenbrier Resort. During the family’s later moves between Kentucky and Florida, Jeanie enjoyed making improvements to the succession of homes they occupied with each move. Tom and Jeanie ultimately remained in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where she played an active role in their community homeowners’ association. In her free time, Jeanie was an avid reader who enjoyed mysteries and science fiction stories as well as books on politics and religion. She also liked out-matching studio contestants while watching “Jeopardy!”

In 2018, Jeanie and Tom relocated to Hedgesville, West Virginia, to be closer to Jeanie’s father in Fairmont and their grandchildren in the Baltimore-Washington area. Jeanie enjoyed attending services at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in Hedgesville. The move also allowed Jeanie to play an active role on the board of PattyFest, LLC, an organization established in honor of her Aunt Patty to promote awareness and appreciation of traditional Appalachian music. In addition, Jeanie delved deeply into researching her family history, collecting and organizing records to support her application to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She will be posthumously installed as a member of the William Henshaw Chapter of the DAR in Martinsburg, West Virginia, on September 7, 2024.

Jeanie was the best and most beloved of mothers and grandmothers to her three kids and six grandchildren. As a mom, she instilled a strong faith in each of her children as well as an appreciation for a good book, a good song, and a good laugh. Over her 27 years as Grandma, she made sure that each grandchild knew they were special to her, sharing love with a listening ear, a calming presence, countless pots of Auntie Bea’s soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, chili, pepperoni rolls, and nut bread.

Jeanie logged (and subsidized) thousands of road and air miles between Florida and the Baltimore-Washington area to take part in her grandchildren’s lives and bring them for stays at “Camp Grumpy,” where Grandpa (aka “Grumpy”) led them on adventures that she coordinated and vetted for safety. Even during Aunt Patty and her father’s final years, over a decade when Jeanie made frequent, lengthy, and physically demanding trips to offer them her support, she was never more than a phone call, a plane ticket, or a day’s drive away when her kids or grandkids needed her. Over decades of road trips with Grandma, all three kids and likely all six grandchildren memorized the tune and lyrics of “On the Road Again” and “Country Roads” through repeated listening and sing-alongs. (“You know he didn’t really write that song about West Virginia,” she would remind passengers between verses.)

A memorial gathering in Jeanie's honor will take place in the social room of the Central United Methodist Church in Fairmont at 10 AM on September 10. A funeral Mass and interment at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Lowell, Michigan will follow on October 3. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations in Jeanie’s memory to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.