Elmer Franklin Howard

Elmer Howard, 81, of Udall passed away January 4, 2015. He was born April 1, 1933, in Winfield, Iowa. He loved living in Iowa and would tell funny stories about his childhood friends and adventures. On May 28, 1951, he joined the Marines serving in Korea and Japan where he lived in a tent on the side of Mount Fuji. He was in the reserves from 1954-1959. In 1956, Elmer moved with his family to El Dorado, KS. For a short period, he returned to Burlington, Iowa where he attended two years at the Junior College before moving back to Kansas. He married the love of his life December 31, 1970. They had two daughters and family was always his first priority. Family vacations driving across the country were taken every summer and many memories were created. He also loved nature and taking care of his many animals which included a fox, peacock, swans, rolling pigeons, turkeys, geese, cats, and dogs. He worked most of his life in retail, working for Graves Drugs, David’s, Gibson’s, Kmart, and Steven’s Rolls Royce. During this time, he also published a Rolls Royce magazine. He retired in 1991 and enjoyed his retirement years spending time with family, traveling, gardening, reading, going to estate sales, and talking about his love of cars.

Elmer is survived by his wife of 44 years, Sharon Howard; daughters, Michelle Cook (Drew) of Oklahoma City; and Kimberly Howard of Udall. He is preceded in death by his parents Emmett and Carrie Howard; brothers, Charles and James; and sister, Dorothy Laffey.

Visitation with family present 5-7pm on Wednesday. Funeral service is 10:30AM Thursday, January 8, 2015, at Smith Mortuary-Mulvane, 501 S.E. Louis Blvd, Mulvane. In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established with the Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside St, Wichita, Ks 67220 and/or The American Cancer Society, 330 S. Main St. #100, Wichita, Ks 67202.