William James (Bill) Howard Sr., of Louisiana, MO and formerly of Moberly, MO passed away on January 14, 2016 at St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, MO.
Bill was born in Manchester, MO to Chester E. and Helen M. Howard on December 5, 1943. The family moved to Moberly in the late 1950’s and Bill attended Moberly Schools until transferring to Missouri School for the Deaf in High School.
He married Sharon K. LaBar in January of 1962 and they had two sons; William James Howard Jr. of Prospect, VA and Jeffrey (Greta) Howard of Moberly, MO.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, and an infant sister, Mary Ellen.
He is survived by his sons, his significant other, Jeanette Ochs of Louisiana, MO, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and siblings; Robert Howard (Edith), Thomas Howard (Linda), and Ellen Avery (Sonny), all of Moberly. Bill worked in commercial printing for many years and was a self-described “Jack of all Trades”. He had been an active member of Sons of the American Legion and Elks Lodge No. 791, both in Louisiana. He had been honored as Elk of the Year for his volunteerism.
A memorial visitation celebrating Bill’s life will be held on Monday, January 18, 2016 from 11:30 until 12:30 at Pathway Memorial Funeral Home. Memorials are suggested to the American Heart Association Midwest Affiliate, 208 South LaSalle Street, Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60604-1242 or the American Diabetes Association, 2833 -B E. Battlefield, Suite 100, Springfield, MO 65804 in his memory.