Johnnie Carroll HOWELL, Jr., was born July 25, 1915, in Polk County, Arkansas. He was the eldest son of J. C. Howell, Sr., and Veller (TITSWORTH) Howell. His paternal grandparents were Hiram Tillman HOWELL and Alice A. STROUP, and his maternal grandparents were Newt TITSWORTH and Maud BAKER.
On December 24, 1933, John C. Howell, Jr., married Edith Kathleen STANDRIDGE, born April 19, 1918, in Golden, Oklahoma.
Her parents were Toy STANDRIDGE and Ninevah EDWARDS both of Polk County, Arkansas. Paternal grandparents were Isaac Newton STANDRIDGE and Alice E. TATE, and maternal grandparents were Thomas Jefferson EDWARDS and Malinda T. HEATH.
John and Edith HOWELL lived in and around Mena, Polk County, Arkansas, after their marriage. Their only child, Jerry C. HOWELL, was born there on February 18, 1940.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The events of that day changed the lives of millions of Americans, including this young Polk County, Arkansas, couple. John C. HOWELL, Jr., enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1942 and made the military his career, which spanned not only World War II but also the Korean War. He was on active duty in England, Okinawa, and Korea, and retired from the military in 1963.
After his retirement, the Howells located in Gardner, Kansas, where he was the operator of the municipal airport. In 1966, John and Edith HOWELL assumed operation of the Seminole Airport, Seminole County, Oklahoma. There was nothing there but an empty hangar when they arrived. In the years that followed, the airport provided private aircraft rental, instruction, maintenance, and a good place to stop over. They changed it from a deserted small town airport to a stopover for many private pilots crossing the country. The mayor of Seminole declared December 14, 1989, as John and Edith HOWELL Day in Seminole to commemorate their retirement.
Johnnie Carroll Howell, Jr. died May 29, 1991, at Seminole, and his body was interred at Rest Haven Memorial Gardens. He had been a member of the Masonic Lodge for over 40 years and, at the time of his death belonged to Lodge 476. He was also a member of the Lions and Elks Clubs and was an active Civil Defense volunteer.
More importantly, John HOWELL was a loving son, husband and father, and a supportive grandfather to Douglas Carroll HOWELL. He was a dependable, honest man, respected by all who knew him, and is greatly missed.
Edith Standridge HOWELL died Feb 2, 2001, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. John and Edith are buried in Rest Haven Memorial Gardens, Seminole, Okla.
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