Howard was born at the old RVH on Ross St. He spent his childhood on Boys St, where he was raised by his parents alongside his only sibling, Janet (Marcel) Carriere of Ottawa. He attended Prince of Wales Public School and Barrie Central. In his early life he was an expert marksman, loved drag racing and working on race cars.

Howard could build or fix anything, from cars to things around the house and just about anything he was asked to repair. He was highly respected as a machinist at Barrie Welding and later owned and operated his own machine shop. He continued to spend time there creating custom parts, machining gadgets, or working on his 1955 Studebaker until his stroke in April 2026.

Howard loved the outdoors and enjoyed biking, fishing, canoeing, hiking, camping, and traveling. He drove across Canada five times, visited every U.S. state, and travelled by road from the Yukon to Panama.

Nancy, his wife of 33 years, will miss him deeply but will always cherish the many adventures they shared together.

Howard was the proud father of Karen Findlay (Mark Rose) of Toronto, stepfather of Leigh (David) Gross and Christine (Evert) van Voorst, both of Barrie, and a beloved "Pa" to his six grandchildren: Kristen, Becky, Sydney, Ian, Nate, and Quincy.

He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him—especially whenever something breaks.

Interment will take place at Barrie Union Cemetery Saturday, September 19th at 11am followed by a light lunch at Grace United Church, 350 Grove St E. Barrie. All are welcome.

Please no flowers, donations in Howard’s memory can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society or charity of your choice.