MR. RAYMOND E. HOWERTON
May 30, 1923-
December 17, 2001
Raymond E Howerton, 78, retired industrial engineer, died Monday, 17 Dec 2001, at Lawrence County Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, Walnut Ridge, AR. Graveside services were conducted under the auspices of Stevens Funeral Home at Forrest Park Cemetery, Forrest City, AR at 10:30 a.m., 20 Dec 2001.
Raymond was born 30 May 1923 at Nelsonville, Sharp County, AR; the son of Otho Earl Howerton and Ophelia Nelson. At a young age his family moved to Haynes, AR where Raymond was raised to manhood. In 1964 he married Mabel Verhoeven (nee Cox). He leaves a stepson, Arnold Verhoeven of Mountain Home, AR; three sisters: Virginia Ruth Honeycutt of Heber Springs, AR; Gloria New of Rusk, TX; and Trilby Hollis of Arlington, TX; two brothers: Otho Howerton of Memphis, TN and Robert Howerton of Sardis, MS; three grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild.
Raymond enlisted in the U S Navy in 1941, a few months prior to the outbreak of World War II. He was present at Naval Air Station Ford Island, which is located in Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese conducted their sneak attack on 7 Dec 1941. He had arrived there only a few days prior to the attack. He served as a Radio Operator and Electronics Technician in naval air units in the Pacific theater of operations including duty aboard various ships and at Naval Air Station Kanoehe, Oahu, TH and at Ulithi Atoll in the far west Pacific. He was honorably discharged following World War II and completed his education, becoming an industrial engineer upon graduation from the University of Georgia.
He was a member of St Andrews Episcopal Church, Marianna, AR; the Veterans of Foreign Wars; and a charter member of Marianna Country Club. He was employed as senior engineer by several different manufacturing concerns, the final location being at Memphis, TN; from which he retired in 1984. He and Mabel retired to Jonesboro, AR where he pursued a hobby of antique clock repair. He and Mabel were avid golfers and often entered tournaments at various clubs in eastern Arkansas, teamed with his cousin, Bryan R Howerton and his wife, Jean. That foursome continued enjoying the fellowship, golf, and bridge until Raymond's illness rendered him unable to continue. Raymond contracted Parkinson's disease about 1994 and was slowly weakened and disabled to the extent that he was hospitalized the last three years of his life.
Raymond was an honest man and a true gentleman; kind to all who met him and a highly respected member of his community. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Compiled primarily from extracts from obituaries in various Arkansas and Tennessee newspapers.)
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