Obituary of E. Ray Howell

October 16, 1941 - Calgary, Alberta

August 29, 2024 - Grand Valley Road, Alberta

Ellis Ray Howell, dearly loved husband of Frances Howell, father of Albert and Kathleen Howell (Terry), and grandfather of Ben Irwin, passed away on Thursday, August 29, 2024, at the age of 82 years, after dealing with Parkinson's disease for a lengthy time.

Ray was born on October 16, 1941, to Robert Orville Howell and Doris Alberta Howell in Calgary, Alberta, the fifth of six brothers: Chuck, Bob, Jim, Bill, and younger brother Grant. Ray and his brothers grew up in West Hillhurst, spending their childhood building forts out of discarded Christmas trees, stealing crab apples and accidentally setting the garage on fire.

Ray was part of the inaugural graduating class of Queen Elizabeth High School. His first job was as a paperboy and then he became an usher at the Variety Theatre. He moved on to working at UFA Co-op, where he learned to smoke.

In 1961 Ray met Frances Morris at a SAIT dance. They met again the next night and Ray didn't remember her. Fran made sure he remembered her after that. Ray and Fran married on September 7, 1963, in Calgary. They then moved to Winnipeg where Ray worked on his economics degree and Fran worked on giving birth to their son Albert. Soon after Albert arrived, they used a car delivery program and headed back to Calgary, bringing back their only possessions — a rocking chair and a card table.

While Fran finished her nursing degree at the Holy Cross Hospital, Ray sampled a variety of jobs including manufacturing tires, building pipelines, and doing seismic work in the Arctic. In 1973, Ray and Fran bought a house, bought their farmland, had their second child Kathleen, and celebrated Ray earning his economics degree. Ray became a landman for Texaco Canada and negotiated one of the first offshore oil rights in Newfoundland. He also worked as a landman at Kerr McGee and Petro-Canada.

Over the next nine years, the family spent every weekend at 'Poverty Acres', where everyone was welcome to come and camp out or cut down a Christmas tree. In 1982 Ray and Fran finished building their house, with the help of a lot of friends and relatives over the years. Many family dinners were held there, celebrating Christmas, Boxing Day, birthdays, anniversaries, golf tournaments, cow brandings, ostrich wrangling, or just coming out to spend time with Ray and Fran. There was always something to fix or build and there was always time to sit and talk before any work would be done.

Ray was also an avid skier who spent many weekends with his friends in Banff, and many vacations with his family skiing in the winter and travelling to Whitefish in the summer, but his favourite place to be was always the farm.

He was a member of Toastmasters and later shared those skills with children in the local 4H club, whom he coached on public speaking. Ray and Fran were active at the Dartique Lodge where they played Santa and Mrs. Claus. They were also enthusiastic members of the Cremona curling club. Golf became Ray’s favourite sport, and he would spend many vacations on the course with his brothers, Bill and Grant.

After retiring from the oil business, Ray returned to his first love, the farm. He worked not only on his place but also on his neighbour Lil Larson’s farm, who was in her 80s and needed a spry hired hand.

Ray was kind, and he was funny. He valued his family, friends, and farming. He will always be remembered as the first one to offer help, the first one to lend an ear, the first one to make you laugh, and the first and the last on the dance floor. As one of his many friends says, Ray never met a stranger.

A Celebration of Ray’s Life will be held at Silver Springs Golf Club (1600 Varsity Estates Dr NW, Calgary, AB), on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at 1:30 p.m.

If friends so desire, donations may be made directly to the Parkinson’s Association of Alberta, 120, 6835 Railway Street S.E., Calgary, AB T2H 2V6 Telephone: (403) 243-9901, www.parkinsonassociation.ca.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Ray’s family here.

In living memory of E. Ray Howell, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Cochrane, 369 Railway Street, Cochrane, AB T4C 2E2, Telephone: 403-932-4740.