As his application to the diaconate revealed, Deacon Robert Howard wanted to “live the way Christ wants me to live, and, at the same time, learn more and more about God.”
Deacon Howard did, in fact, live his life for God, his family and his ministries. It was with sadness that, after illness, he passed away on April 6, 2023.
Deacon Howard was ordained on June 11, 1994, by then-Archbishop J. Francis Stafford. He ministered at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Boulder and St. John the Baptist Parish in Longmont, beginning the food bank at St. John the Baptist. He loved the Prison Ministry and visiting the nursing homes in Longmont. He retired from ministry in 2017.
“Deacon Howard felt close to those on the peripheries and ministered to their needs,” said Deacon Ernest Martinez, Director of the Diaconate.
Deacon Howard was born on December 20, 1953, in Oak Lawn, IL, and graduated from St. Ambrose University. He met his future wife, Maggie, and they were married on June 5, 1976. They were blessed with their children, Richard (Josie), Kate (Mick) and Christine, and they have 5 grandchildren.
A Funeral Vigil was held on Sunday, April 16, 2023 at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel, and a Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. John the Baptist Parish in Longmont on Monday, April 17, 2023.
