Howard Newman

Howard was a special person who touched the hearts of so many. He was a loving husband, father, brother, son, grandpa, uncle, and friend. He was a gentle, kind, honest soul who always acted with the best of intentions, and always strived to do the right thing.

Howard lived a full life. He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1950 to Sidney (a WWII Veteran and Postal Worker) and Thelma Newman, and grew up with 3 sisters: Arlene, Shelley, and Beverly. He loved playing stickball with friends, watching Yankees games, and listening to his transistor radio. He started collecting Rock n Roll records as a teenager, which grew into a lifelong passion. His first job was as a paperboy, throwing newspapers from his bicycle. He enjoyed drawing and painting, and eventually attended the High School of Art and Design, a gifted High School for students with exceptional talent in the fine arts, where he majored in advertising design and illustration. In 1968 Howard attended the New York Institute of Technology, majoring in painting and photography. In the summers, he worked as a lifeguard in Rockaway Beach.

After graduating in 1973, he went to work as an illustrator for Strauss Stores, which ran ads twice per week in the N.Y. Daily News showing Howard’s illustrations. Howard’s original illustrations were being seen throughout the New York area on a weekly basis. Although he was a successful commercial artist, in 1974 he decided to change direction and enrolled in Hunter College in Manhattan earning his teaching degree while still working as a commercial artist. Upon obtaining his teaching degree, Howard moved to South Florida and taught fine arts in the Dade County Public School system for 7 years. While teaching, he earned his Master’s Degree at Nova University.

Howard met Ivy in 1975, and the two hit it off instantly. They married in 1978 and bought a house together in Davie, FL.

During the 1980’s Howard and Ivy started their own graphics company, designing, printing, and selling t-shirts. This business proved to be fruitful and Howard worked at it for 10 years. During this time, he met model and photographer Bunny Yaeger in Miami, who told Howard he had the right look for movies and commercials. Howard, at the same time, formed a rock n’ roll band with Ivy, who was a trained vocalist and keyboard player, and performed in South Florida. Howard appeared in 12 movies, the Miami Vice T.V. show, as well as many commercials from 1982-1984. Ivy gave birth to their daughter, April, in 1984, and their son, Brian, in 1991.

Howard went back to school and received his state license in Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Therapy. In 1993 he and Ivy opened Advanced Therapeutics and Health Care. Howard loved to help people using his hands with various healing techniques to help ease their physical pain. Howard and Ivy continued the business for nearly 20 years before retiring in 2012.

In the late 1990s, Howard became interested in a new passion, craps. He took a PARR class, taught by Jerry Patterson and Sharpshooter, the inventor of on-axis shooting. Howard excelled in it, and was soon asked to become an instructor/coach. In 2003 Howard left the PARR group to become a partner and instructor with Golden Touch Craps "GTC", a dice control group with Frank Scoblete and Dominator. He became one of the best craps shooters in the world, with a record 84-hand role. Over the years, he learned dozens of shots, eventually developing his own. He started teaching independently in the 2010s, and taught hundreds of students. With the help of word-of-mouth testimonials and Youtube, he soon had a following of thousands of people from around the world. In 2023, he joined Premier Casino Hosting, where he hosted many craps shooters at casinos and cruises.

Over the past few years, Howard spent most of his time teaching craps, seeing family and friends, and going to the beach every chance he could. He loved listening to his oldies records, cassettes, and radio stations. He enjoyed walking through nature, looking at plants and animals, feeding birds in the backyard, and watching old Elvis and Beatles videos.

Although the past 6 months have been difficult, we choose to remember the other 72 years. All of those years of happiness, kindness, love, friendship, curiosity, and optimism that made him such a unique and special person. We are so fortunate to have had Howard in our lives, and the world is a better place because of him.