Lee N. Howard 1936 - 2025

Lee Nugent Howard was born  August 7, 1936, in our nation’s capital to Charles F. Howard Sr., a Colonel in the U.S. Army who served in WWII, and Margaret (Lee) Howard, for whom he was lovingly named. Lee spent his boyhood in Denver, Colorado, growing up alongside his older brother, Charles, developing a deep bond that would continue throughout their lives and eventually lead both brothers to Oregon.

Lee graduated from East High School before earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Colorado, where he met his wife of  57 years, Barbara (Bowman) Howard. Lee saw Barbara walking across campus one day and pointed her out to a friend, saying, “I’m going to marry her.” Always a man of his word, Lee made good on his promise and did just that. Lee and Barbara were married on June 25, 1960, in Madison, Wisconsin, and happily set about building a family together, including two daughters, Gail and Cari.

After spending some time working on Barbara’s family dairy, Lee followed in his father’s footsteps and served in the Army, where he was assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. While there, he quickly rose to a leadership position, serving as the CO of the 582 Fire Fighting Unit.

After leaving the Army, Lee returned to the world where he would spend most of his professional life: academics. After earning a master’s degree in economics at the University of Colorado, Lee launched what would become a long career in academia when, in 1974, he took a position as the Director of Development for the University of Northern Colorado’s foundation. Always as charming and insightful as he was strategic, Lee excelled at raising funds for institutes of higher learning.

After a long tenure at UNC, he left Colorado for Oregon, accepting a position as Director of Development at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. In 1993, Lee continued that westward trend when he joined the executive team at Linfield College, where in 2003 he proudly ended his career as Vice President Emeritus of College Relations. While at Linfield, Lee worked alongside Dr. Vivian Bull to raise funds to build the Nicholson Library, and build or remodel 13 other buildings, as well as helping usher in the expansion of Linfield’s campus through the acquisition of land from Hewlett-Packard.

Never one to let grass grow under his feet, Lee was as active in retirement as he was during his working years, throwing himself wholeheartedly into service for a variety of non-profit organizations. He dedicated years to McMinnville Area Habitat for Humanity, where he served in a variety of positions, including Board Chair, helping to launch the Habitat ReStore, and to dramatically grow revenue to ensure as many families as possible in his community had access to safe, affordable homes. Lee also served on the executive committee for YCAP’s capital campaign to build a new food bank, contributing countless hours of expertise in order to create food security in his community.

Lee loved a good story, and was especially fond of reading series like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and Louis Lamour’s The Sackets, as well as being an avid "West Wing" fan. He wrote the world’s greatest annual Christmas letter, replete with comedic descriptions of the finer nuances of the past year, drawing a smile from all lucky enough to receive them. Frequent attention was paid to his love of Apple Computers, his daily morning latte from the Laughing Bean, and his various adventures at the gym. Lee was, above all however, a proud father, always updating friends on the two daughters he adored, as well as his three grandchildren, of whom he was immensely proud.

Lee was predeceased by his wife, Barbara; and his brother, Charles, and leaves behind a beautiful family, including daughters, Gail Howard and Cari Howard; grandchildren, Sean Costello, Ryan Costello, and Lora Glenn; as well as son-in-law, David Costello.

All are welcome to join the family in celebrating both Lee and Barbara from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 19, at Lee’s favorite haunt, the Laughing Bean Bistro.