Quentin Eugene Howard MD

1919 - 2014

Quentin Eugene Howard, MD, 95, passed away Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at a local care center from natural causes. Quentin was born in Emmett, Idaho, the second youngest of seven children of Robert J. and Alta (Sisler) Howard.
After graduation from Emmett High School, he attended Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho and then Pasadena City College in California. In 1943, he graduated with his pre-med degree from the University of Southern California. In September of 1943 he was called up to active duty in the U.S. Army, and then attended George Washington School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., as a member of the Army while earning his medical degree. The government was in need of doctors for the war effort so his medical training was paid by the Army. He always wore his army uniform while attending classes and some Saturdays were spent in marching and parade drills on the lawn of the White House. He graduated as Private First Class Dr. Quentin Howard!
Quentin met Margie Willingham while attending the Nazarene Church in Emmett. They went on their first date to an ice cream shop, fell in love, and were married in 1943 following Quentin's graduation from USC. After medical school and an internship in Cleveland, they returned to Emmett where Quentin started his medical practice. He then joined the Air Force, which upgraded his rank to Captain, and served in Texas and Guam. While serving in Guam, he made a flight around the world as the on-board flight surgeon. He was also able to tour some of the recently vacated WWII battlegrounds on Guam and Iwo Jima.
After his discharge from the Air Force and a brief return to Emmett, Quentin and his family spent two years in British Honduras (now Belize) as medical missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene. While there, he worked throughout the country in various clinics and in a small hospital. They returned in 1956 to Cleveland where he took additional surgical training for three years. He returned to Idaho in 1959 and opened his surgical practice in Boise with Dr. Raymond White. He performed general surgery at both St. Luke's and St. Alphonsus hospitals until his retirement in 1986. He also served a term as Medical Chief of Staff for St. Luke's and was active in the American Cancer Society, Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) and other medical associations. He was a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons.
In retirement, he enjoyed traveling with friends to the desert areas of California and Arizona. He became interested in rock collecting, and soon added a rock saw and polisher in his basement workshop. He made many beautiful belt buckles and other jewelry items from the rocks he collected. He also became very adept at creating wooden sculptures of birds and other animals. His steady hands and surgeon's eye for detail were a great talent that he was able to use in other hobbies, including assembling and finishing grandfather clocks. Quentin also loved roses and spent many hours in his rose garden, pruning and tending to the roses that produced many beautiful bouquets on their table.
In 2007, due to declining health (Quentin had Parkinson's, Margie had Alzheimer's), they moved from their home of 48 years on the Boise bench into assisted living at Touchmark at Meadowlake in Meridian. They made new friends with residents and staff and their lives were enriched by the wonderful care they received. Quentin continued his gardening, moving watering hoses around with his wheelchair to water the flower pots. Following Margie's death in 2010, Quentin married Phyllis Hartley Perkins in 2011 and they enjoyed three and one-half years of loving companionship. In August 2013 Quentin moved to the Memory Care Unit.
Quentin's other passion and center of his life was his love of God and his ministry to all he encountered. He was a lifelong member of the Church of the Nazarene and served throughout the years in various volunteer positions. He volunteered several times to go overseas and spend time in missionary hospital facilities so that the regular staff could rotate home for rest. There is no one more worthy than Quentin of the praise: "Well done thou good and faithful servant." We know he is at peace and rest and enjoying his heavenly reward for a lifetime of dedicated Christian service.
Quentin was the last surviving member of his family of six brothers and one sister. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margie; by his parents; by sister Frances, and by brothers Walter, Robert, Harry, Emory, and Glenn.
He is survived by his wife, Phyllis, of Meridian; children Quentin Jr. (Shirley) of Meridian, Idaho; Marita (Dwight) Douglas of Olathe, Kan.; Joanne (Dave) York of Boise; and Ron (Sharon) Howard of Overland Park, Kan.; nine grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
The family wishes to thank the staff at Meadowlake Assisted Living and the Memory Care Unit (Aspen) for their loving care and compassion for Quentin over the last seven years.
A memorial service to celebrate Quentin's life was held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014, at Valley Shepherd Church of the Nazarene, 150 W Maestra St, Meridian. Burial and graveside services were at the Emmett Cemetery following the service on Saturday.
In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome donations in Quentin's memory to Northwest Nazarene University or Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI).