William Irvin "Billy" Howell

William Irvin "Billy" Howell, 72, of Louisville, formerly of Hodgenville, passed away on the morning of June 21, 2011 after a galant battle with cancer, at the Hospice Pavilion. He was born to Ivy J. and Lura I. Clopton Howell who preceded him in death.

Billy graduated from Kentucky School of Mortuary Science in 1959 and began his career working for Arch L. Heady & Son Funeral Homes. He spent the majority of his career working with Arch L. Heady & Son in the Louisville area and in Bowling Green, Kentucky. When he left the Louisville area, Billy was the owner, operator and director of Billy Howell Fairdale Funeral Home, and when he retired in 2009 due to illness, he was the owner, operator and director of Billy Howell Funeral Chapel in Hodgenville, KY.

Billy’s hobby was stock car racing and he began racing in 1962 at Fairgrounds Motor Speedway, Louisville, KY. Billy raced weekly at Fairgrounds Motor Speedway and won the 1975 New and Late Model Season Championship. Billy was inducted into the Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2010.

He is survived by his son, Billy Allen Howell and his loving daughter, Shannon Lee Howell; their mother, Pat Wilbert; sisters, Mardelle Hartlauf and Linda Howell; nieces, Sherry Cheever (Lance) and Carrie Jo Poindexter (Charles); great-nieces, Katie Eubank (Will) and Mallory Cheever, and devoted friend, Julie Houk.

His Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2011, at 6 p.m. at the Arch L. Heady at Resthaven Chapel, 4400 Bardstown Road. Visitation will be on Saturday from noon till service time at the funeral home.

Expressions of sympathy may be made to Hosparus. The family would like to extend their thanks and appreciation to the staff and chaplains at the Pavilion for all of the support and care that was given to Billy and to them during his final days, and also his Hosparus Indiana caregivers, Bob and Bonnie.