Howard J. Kingsley Jr.

Howard Johnson Kingsley Jr., 73, of Stevensville was abruptly taken away from us on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.

Howard was born on May 3, 1952, in Kalamazoo, Mich., to Florence Wood and Howard Kingsley. He grew up with five siblings; three sisters and two brothers. Despite a difficult childhood, Howard chose to see the good in life and grew into a person of remarkable strength, warmth and unshakable positivity.

Howard graduated from Loy Norrix High School and continued his education at Western Michigan University where he earned a bachelor's degree in education and became a physical education teacher and a track and field coach. He later joined the U.S. Army Reserve Military Police, where he served in multiple active-duty deployments (Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay and Panama) and retired after 25 years as a master sergeant. He was a very proud and patriotic veteran. He came home to continue to work at Lakeland (Corewell) hospital as a third-shift security guard for 13 years.

Howard welcomed his first son Scott in 1979. After marrying his wife Cheryl on July 6, 1985, they were blessed with two additional children: Katie and Max, who completed their family.

An avid outdoorsman, Howard cherished his time hunting and could often be found riding his bike, two passions that brought him so much happiness. He was also a devoted runner, proud of completing numerous marathons and had a lifelong love for track and field. Of all his accomplishments and hobbies, Howard was most proud of the life he built with his wife of 40 years, the children they raised together, and his grandchildren who brought him endless joy.

Surviving are his wife, Cheryl; sons: Scott (Vee) Kingsley, Max (Regan) Kingsley; daughter, Kat (Alex) Kingsley; grandchildren: Liam, Teagan and Millie Kingsley; sisters: Evelyn Shabeeb and Miky Kingsley; and his beloved dog, Mocha.

He was preceded in death by his parents: Florence and Howard; his identical twin, Harold (Ron) Kingsley; and siblings: Albert Kingsley and Carolyn Grasly.

We will miss him deeply, yet we find peace in that he passed doing what he loved.

A service to celebrate Howard's life will be at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, at Starks and Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Road, St. Joseph, where friends may visit with his family from 11 a.m. until the time of service. Interment with military honors will be at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, in Fort Custer National Cemetery, Augusta, Mich.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Pachyderm Pedalers (https://pachydermpedalers.com). Please visit Howard's personalized web page to share a memory or leave a condolence to his family at www.starks-menchinger.com.