Joseph Graham Howe Jr.

Joseph Graham Howe Jr.

Joseph Graham Howe Jr., 85, of Charlottesville, Virginia, died at home on Sunday, November 1, 2009, of metastatic melanoma.

He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, on June 15, 1924, the son of Joseph G. Howe and Gladys Williams Howe.

He was raised in Wilmington and moved to Savannah, Georgia, in 1940, when his father was called to active military duty. He graduated from Savannah High School in 1942. He then started college at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.

During his first semester, Joe and 700 of his fellow cadets joined the military after the then Citadel President, General Summerall, gave a speech saying, "Gentlemen, I have had word that Citadel men have landed in North Africa. Citadel men are fighting in the Pacific. It is time to stand up and be counted." Joe served in the European Theater of Operations until April 1946. He continued as an Army Reservist until 1966 attaining the rank of Major, Corps of Engineers.

After the war, Joe returned to The Citadel and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in December 1949, and was elected to the national engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi. While still a student, he married the former Margaret Ann Knapp of West Point, Virginia. They had two sons and a daughter before her untimely death in 1966.

Joe worked for a short time before coming to the University of Virginia to obtain his Master of Civil Engineering degree in 1952. He then embarked on a long career in the construction industry. He worked in South Carolina and Richmond before returning to Charlottesville to work for Ivy Construction. He then worked for Basic Construction in Newport News and Daniel Construction-Virginia in Norfolk. From 1972 until 1977, he was Vice-President and Partner of Thacker Construction in Charlottesville. For many years after that he consulted on construction projects in the Charlottesville area.

He proudly served from 1965 until 1966 as President of the Virginia Branch of the Associated General Contractors of America.

In 1977 Joe began a second career teaching the subject that was so special to him - construction. He taught at the University of Virginia School of Architecture and School of Engineering. His love for his students and the work he was doing kept him actively teaching until illness forced him to stop in March 2009. He always felt blessed to have jobs he enjoyed.

Joe served his community in many ways. He was active in the Episcopal Church and was a past President of the Charlottesville Rotary Club and the Albemarle County Historical Society.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his only brother, Patrick W. Howe; and his first wife, Margaret Knapp Howe.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia G. Howe of Charlottesville and his children, Joseph G. Howe III, and his wife, Mary Frances Pearson, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, Joan K. Howe and her husband, Michael Pasceznyk, of Fishtail, Montana, and William H. Howe and his wife, Elena, of Apex, North Carolina. He is also survived by three grandsons, Max Kovalev and Nicholas Howe of Apex, North Carolina, and Christopher Pasecznyk of Fishtail, Montana. Four sisters-in-law also survive him, Shirley K. Howe, Patricia Stratton, Henry Etta Hurley and Lalla R. Grimes.

Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Thursday, November 5, 2009, at St. Paul's Memorial Church, 1700 University Avenue, Charlottesville, Virginia.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad, PO Box 160, Charlottesville, VA 22902.

Friends may send condolences to the family at www.hillandwood.com.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.