Lucille M. Howard

Lucille M. Howard

Lucille M. Howard, 92, of Havre, passed away on Friday, May 17, 2013, at Northern Montana Care Center of natural causes.

Vigil services will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at St. Jude Thaddeus Church with Tim Maroney officiating. Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, at St. Jude Thaddeus Church with Father Daniel Wathen officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery. The family has requested that memorials be made to St. Jude Thaddeus School, the Havre-Hill County Library, Montana State University-Northern Scholarship Fund, or to the charity of the donor's choice. Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements, and you can leave your memories and/or condolences for the family at http://www.hollandbonine.com.

Lucille was born on Aug. 10, 1920, in Mellette, S.D., to John and Irene (Bourassa) Bradley. She was raised in Flaxville, Mont. During high school, the chancellor of Northern Montana College came to her high school to recruit students and offered Lucille a scholarship to attend Northern, so attend Northern she did. She earned her teaching degree and taught in a country school for a time. While attending college, she met Charles "Chuck" Howard in 1939, and he came to call on her several times. They both said it was love at first sight for both of them, but Charles was drafted and sent to California for training. While in California, Chuck called Lucille and asked her to marry him before he shipped out to serve in World War II. She packed her bags and headed to California. They were married in Indio, Calif., on July 23, 1942. Soon after, Chuck headed overseas. While he was gone, Lucille moved to Chicago to live with her parents and work for an insurance company while she waited for her beloved husband to return. In the late 1940s, the happy couple moved back to Havre, and made their home here, raising their three children. In the early years, Lucille assisted Chuck as a photo colorist in his photography business. Later on, Lucille worked as a clerk for the Hill County Treasurer's Office, diligently bookkeeping for the public schools districts.

Lucille was an intelligent woman with an excellent head for figures, who loved reading, especially biographies, autobiographies, and history, and, more specifically, Montana history. According to her children, she enjoyed needlework, and baked "the best pies in the world." She had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh. Watching "Antiques Roadshow" and television comedies, such as "America's Funniest Home Videos" and the "Apple Dumpling Gang" provided her with much enjoyment. She also enjoyed slapstick and British humor, such as Benny Hill. Watching sports was one of her favorite pastimes, especially boxing and baseball … and in particular, the Chicago Cubs, as she had seen them play a few times while visiting family in Illinois. Lucille liked to play Scrabble and solve crossword puzzles. Playing cards and traveling to Canada on fishing trips via RV with friends were pleasant memories. She and Chuck also really loved to dance and were stars on the dance floor. But above all, family was her number one priority.

She was preceded in death by Charles "Chuck" Howard, her husband of 62 years; her parents, John and Irene Bradley; her two sisters, Peggy Jacobson and Marcie Barr; and her brother, Gerald Bradley.

She is survived by her son, Gerald (Claudia) Howard of Havre; her daughters, Colleen (Jim) Magera of Havre and Susan (Marion Tobin) Howard of Aurora, Colo .; 10 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; her brother, Donald (Mary Kay) Bradley of LaGrange, Ill., and numerous nieces and nephews.