Rev. Frank D. Howden

Ad memoriam

Patrick Walker e doesn't have access to a computer and has asked Claire to post the following:

"The Memory of Frank

It was a wonderful experience knowing Frank. Frank was always there to listen and I always enjoyed talking with him. I always thought he had an interesting way of putting things together. Some of my favorite conversations were about the Vietnam War .We used to talk for hours about science and politics. Frank was a good man and I was privileged to know him. Frank...

I met Frank back in 1996 when I was only a student at Hobart College when Claire, my host mother, graciously invited me to her house for a home-cooked meal one evening. Frank was not only well-read, but was incredibly smart and funny. Even today, I remember his joke about the “black and white striped snake”, which he would tell with an authentic gentile English accent. I’d ask him to repeat it every opportunity I’d get (even at the risk of upsetting Claire). His vast knowledge about a host...

Father Howden is someone I have known seemingly all of my life...My first memory was of him baptizing me...I was at Vertex when my mother called me to tell me of his passing...I loved him dearly, and always enjoyed his company. He had one hell of a sense of humor. :)
I miss him.

I first met Frank when he was at my sister Katie Young's chuch, St. John's in Clifton Springs. My mother Claire Kremer was the organist there at the time. I had to giggle as Katie tried to hook the two of them up by inviting Frank to all the family functions, while they were secretly dating already! (Mom, I hope it's okay I let the cat out of the bag?) Over the last 16 years as I came home to visit Mom, I came to know, love and respect Frank and we always frustrated Mom with our inside...

This photo was taken at Claire's late mothers condo in Cape Cod, circa 1993. July 23rd each year was when whoever in the family could travel, used to get together from far and wide to celebrate Kay Hanna's birthday. I believe this was the first time that Franks's southern hospitality met with Claire's family's northern congeniality. We had a hoot that night!

We enjoyed Frank's company at the Annual Labor Day Picnic in Ithaca. Frank would accompany Claire every year and he thoroughly enjoyed the good fun with the Miller clan.
We will miss Frank's great sense of humor and philisophical opinions.

Claire, we are thinking of you during this sad time. Please keep all of your pleasant thoughts in the forefront.

Please call us if you need something.

Love,

Dave and Sue Norton

I started off knowing Frank as an irritable patient with an opinion about everything. It didn't take me long to realize that Frank really did have an opinion on everything; mostly because he was an intelligent person with broad experience and interests. I looked forward to our visits and the stories he would tell about growing up in the south and about his time in school. I'm sorry for his family's loss; Clair did a wonderful thing caring for Frank all those months, without her I never...

To all of Frank's abundant family and friends, we were very sorry to hear about his passing. Even for relatives such as us who have seen too little of Frank over the years, he will be remembered with warmth, humor and affection -- for his big heart, hearty personality and boundless warmth, dating way back to when I was a young girl visiting the Howdens in Savannah. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help during this difficult time.