Essay written by Robert's daughter, Linda
A Little About My Daddy!
"I thank the Lord that he gave me such a special daddy! He was my protector, my friend, my inspiration and my everything. My father was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. His wife and his family were always his first priority. He worked hard every day of his life to provide for and protect us. No matter how hard it got, he never complained. He set an example to his children and grandchildren with his morals, action, love and faith. He showed each of us by example how to lead our lives. He taught us what unconditional love really meant. He taught us what it meant to be honest, faithful, hardworking, dependable, trustworthy and most of all, how to love and show love through humor and affection. In fact, I do know that his sense of humor is a trait that I received from him. No matter what the situation, even until the end, he would always use his jokes and teasing to lighten the situation. Even in the hospital, he would tease the nurses and Dr.'s and always have them laughing. Everyone who came in contact with him would end up looking forward to seeing him and even stop in to check on him, or see him before he was to leave. There never was a time that we ever had to question or wonder how he felt about us, because we all knew by his actions and affection. I will miss him every day until the day I once again see him. I will miss walking in and hearing him say "There's my/our girl" or "Love you Babe." My heart aches losing him, but I am so thankful for the time I've had him here on earth, until I get to see him again one day in Heaven. It was so hard to let him go, but I am at peace to know that my daddy's pain and suffering is now over. My heart aches as well for my mother! They were together for 57 years and never apart with the exception, when one of them would need a stay in the hospital. She has a long hard road ahead now of trying to learn to live without her other half. I know she will do it, but I pray that God gives her the strength and comfort she needs to adjust to his absence. Pray for us now please, that we can all move on with all of our happy memories we have of our special man.
Love you daddy and thank you for loving me! "Your Girl"
MEMORIES OF MY DADDY
I have so many funny and happy memories of my father, and a few that always stick out more than others...probably too many to write about, but I'll share a few.
One of my earlier memories is of being at my Aunt Evelyn's house and my dad was taking me for a ride on the handle bars of the bike he was riding. Of course, mom was standing there telling him to "Be careful Bob", but I didn't care, because I was having a blast! So there he is riding me around and around the yard and street and I'm happy as can be, and then......."Waaaahhhh!" My foot had slipped and went into the moving spokes of the wheel!!! Well, that ended in a rushed trip to the doctor to fix up the chunk out of the heel of my foot! You may think this would be a very painful memory, but actually, it's a very happy memory, because I was enjoying the fun with my father and now, it's an even more cherished memory!
My dad was one of the biggest teasers around. And to tell the truth, if he didn't like you, then he didn't tease you!!! Well my dad really loved me a lot, because he teased me all of my life and I loved every minute of it! Another memory was when I was in high school and at home. All of a sudden, dad told me that it was snowing like crazy outside! I told him he was fibbing and he kept saying no, it was! He kept blocking me, every time I would try to run to the kitchen window or get through the doorway, to the living room window. Well, all of a sudden I broke loose with him trailing behind, and ended up stubbing my toe on the doorway and falling on the ground in and episode of laughter and tears! We all sat there laughing hysterically...well me laughing hysterically with a little crying in between. But again, I loved my dad's teasing. His teasing was the way he showed affection most of the time. Laughter gets you through a lot of things, just as they say, '"Laughter is the best medicine"! I totally agree! I've learned through my dad not to take life so seriously...have fun, joke and laugh as much as you can through it all! I've carried that lesson with me throughout my years and it has been my sanity and salvation, many, many times through life's ups and downs!
A more recent memory of my father would be a few years back, when he decided he wanted to buy a Chevy Malibu, after I had gotten mine in 2008, and he like it so much. He found a used one online with amazingly low mileage on it, but all the way in Northern Indiana almost to Chicago!!!! He was bound and determined he wanted that car, but he would need someone to drive with him, so they could follow him back home in his other car after he purchased it! Of course there was no one else to help, because everyone had plans for that weekend and couldn't, so he called me! Dang it, dang it, I thought! It's the weekend, and I'd really like to enjoy my weekend and relax, rather than drive all the way to Timbuktu with dad!!!! Darn it, Dang it.....grumble, grumble, grumble.....well, I tried to talk him out of it and to wait until someone else could take him, but with that old stubborn German side of him, he wasn't waiting and if he had to, he would just drive himself and leave his other car there and have to have someone go with him later to get it. I begrudgingly agreed to go with him and thought it was going to be a very boring and dull time. Well, we took off on our "trip", and to my surprise, this drive turned out to be one of the most fun and interesting trips I've ever had. I am so thankful that I was the one that went with him that day! It ended up being one of the most special and cherished times of my life. Dad started telling me stories of his childhood when he would go summers and stay on a friend's farm. He told me stories of when he was in the army and of friends he'd made, and things that happened in Korea. He told me stories of his teenage years and all of his youthful escapades. He told me about family members and friends that I really never knew anything about. My dad talked more to me that day than I think he ever had and the happiness in his eyes and excitement in his voice, while telling me his stories is more priceless to me now than anything else. It's amazing how the Lord can take something so small that you look at as a burden or inconvenience and ends up turning it into the important and special times in life. I know it was special to me!
The most recent and blessed memories I will ever have would probably have to be the last few years and especially the past four months since my father fell ill. It has been very hard on all of us, but more so for my father who suffered so greatly, but held on as long as he could for my mother's sake. It has been a long, hard, physically and emotionally exhausting period of time, but I would not trade a minute of it! I remember my dad sitting in the emergency room with me, when my mom had been rushed to the hospital emergency room with vertigo. As we sat there, dad started talking to me and telling me that no matter how hard the past few years have been with his health, he never asks God "Why me?" He said he never feels sorry for himself, because God had given him a good life! He said he had a good wife, a good family, a good home and a good job. He said he felt he had everything he's wanted and he was thankful for that. Later on, these last few months after things got more critical with his health, I was just so thankful that I was able to be there with him and share so much time with him before the end. He always worried about everyone even then. He worried about how hard it was on my mom and that he was taking up so much of her time taking care of him. He worried about me being there so much and that I needed to leave and be at work. He worried about my brother Greg and Terry and what it was doing to them. He worried more about all of us, and thought he was burdening us and our lives!!! That was so far from the truth and I hope in the end, he knew that and felt that. I hope he really understood that we were there because we loved him so much, and that we needed to spend as much time with him as possible, before it was time to say goodbye. Well, that time finally came on Good Friday, March 29th, and I am more thankful now to the good Lord above, that he blessed me with every day, every minute and every second that I had with my daddy! I miss him every day, and it will seem like an eternity until the day I finally see him again with Jesus, but until then, I have so many precious and special memories to hold close to my heart. Thank you so very much Lord for sending me such a special daddy and sharing him with me for so long here on earth. But for now, I know that he is up there with you, still watching over us, just as he did when he was with us. One day very soon I'll get to hear him say, "There's my girl! Love you Babe!"
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Funeral Home Obituary
Robert L. Howe 82, of indianapolis, IN, passed away on March 29, 2013. He was born February 14, 1931.
Robert was retired from Colonial Baking Co. He served in the Army in the Korean War.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years Sharon Elder Howe; daughter Linda S. Howe; sons Terry (Linda K.) and Gregory Howe. 5 grandchildren: Amber Rush, Damon Clark, Chris and Mike Howe and Andy Beals. 7 great-grandchildren: Trent and Trevor Rush, Cooper and Kinley Clark, Connor, Kallen and Addison Beals. Nephew: Steve Howe and great nephew Brandon Howe.