Ann Marie Howard

Ann was born in Brooklyn, NY (and damn proud of it) in February 1935. Her parents, John and Anna Polito, moved their family to Los Angeles where John began a successful career with the studios. Ann grew up in old-time Hollywood and had the stories to prove it. Ronald Reagan became a regular at dinner for spaghetti and meatballs after he forgot his lunch one day and John shared his homemade meatball sandwich. Who didn’t hear the story of John Wayne curing her bee sting with some dirt and his saliva? Or when a young Jerry Brown threw her into a pool and then had to rescue her because she never learned to swim. Or when young Ann and Natalie Cole snuck out of the house to sneak a few cocktails. And she even survived a blind date with O.J. Simpson! Yes, these are all true stories!

After college, Ann married Bob Walters and became a military wife and mother. Bob and Ann went on to have five children and travel the world with the army. Ann and her family lived on army bases in Alaska, Georgia, Washington state and Germany. During their time in Alaska, she even adopted a Moose and named him Charlie.

After Bob and Ann divorced, Ann raised her five kids alone and entered the workforce for the first time. She was an independent, proud woman and was determined to find a career to support her children. She would soon use her gift with the pen to start a long career as a technical writer and editor for the Department of Defense.

One lucky night, as a substitute bowler for her department’s teams, she met Ross Howard, the love of her life. They fell in love, married in 1974 and had a son together. They shared forty-five wonderful years filled with laughter and love.

Ann didn’t suffer fools gladly and had spunk to spare. She was an amazing cook whose liberal use of butter and cream would put Paula Deen to shame. Her most famous recipe was rice balls and we will forever miss those. She even wrote a cookbook of all her favorite recipes and shared it with friends and family. It is a treasured and most sought-after item in the family.

Ann was an amazing storyteller. She could take a simple story about a trip to the store and weave it into a compelling Obama-like speech. She was the “hostess with the mostess” when throwing dinner parties, baby showers or her and Ross’ famous murder mystery parties. Ann could (and did) command attention in any room with her raucous sense of humor and rapier wit.

Ann was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, her daughter Janice and three grandchildren.

Ann is survived by her husband of over 40 years, Ross; and her five children, Sue Walters, Mike (Jackie) Walters, Jeff (Maggie) Walters, Mary (Victoria) Walters and Jonathan (Catherine) Howard. She also leaves behind 13 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; and 2 spoiled dogs.

A viewing will take place at Ted Mayr Funeral Home, in Ventura, on Monday, August 19, 2019, from 5:30 – 7:00pm, with a Rosary to follow at 7pm. A funeral mass will be held at Sacred Heart Church, in Ventura, on Tuesday, August 20, 2019, at 10:00am.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home, 3150 Loma Vista Road, Ventura. Condolences may be sent to TedMayrFuneralHome.com.