Luke T. Howe

1940 - 2025

Luke T. Howe
08/25/1940 - 08/13/2025
Luke T. Howe passed peacefully at his home just twelve days shy of his 85th birth anniversary. His last weeks were spent with loved ones, including his daughter Cymene, his granddaughter, Brijzha, sister Teresa, first wife, Linda and son-in-law, Dominic. A good Catholic from the cradle until the end, Luke left this world in good spirits, enjoying cake and music with family, reminiscing and writing a handful of poems, in a style not unlike one of his favorites, T.S. Eliot.

A Californian for most of his life, Luke embraced Houston where he spent the last several years of his life. Bayou bicycle paths, friends in LEOH, sports at Rice and being there as his only granddaughter grew up, filled Luke's days with good times. A lifelong supporter of the performing arts, Luke was deeply inspired by them: from opera to the ballet. Luke was a cyclist, pedaling nearly to his dying day. With his daughter, he rode from San Francisco to Los Angeles and from the Nevada state line to the Pacific; he also garnered a handful of "centuries" (100-mile rides) and cycled across Death Valley several times. He was also an accomplished chess player and sailboat racer.

After a successful career as a librarian at UC Santa Cruz, he joined the staff at EZ Racers, a boutique recumbent bicycle manufacturer that held the world speed record for several years. Luke was familiar with innovation, having begun his librarianship with the mandate to transition the university library from a card catalog to a computerized database of holdings. Luke helped usher in that digital age.

Luke was a traveler and an adventurer, never afraid to be off to far-flung places but always ending each arrival home with the words, "another safe trip." He loved to cook fresh vegetables in simple ways and he would happily chef up a rack of lamb. Luke served in the military during the Cold War and mastered Russian at the Army Language School at Fort Ord before being deployed to Turkey. His second marriage to Patricia Medina was the source of a wonderful second family and a rare book business. After caring for his widowed mother in Santa Barbara for several years, he married Jayne Flynn with whom he took trips to view the autumn leaves and cherry trees as they bloomed.

Luke will be truly missed by his friends and family; he lived a long, full and good life. Pura vida.