Howard George Kolus

A beloved husband, father, grandfather, and neighbor, Howard Kolus passed away peacefully at home November 22, 2025. He will be greatly missed.

Howard, 87, is survived by his wife, Ellie Ludwig of Mechanicsburg; daughter, Cheryl Kolus (Jeremy Hayes) of Colorado; son, Derrick Kolus (Karen) of California; and 3 grandchildren. Howard's first wife of 55 years, Tilly, passed away in 2016.

Born February 22, 1938, in New Jersey to German immigrant parents, Howard led a rich life. He served in the US Air Force and met Tilly while stationed in Germany. He and Tilly enjoyed road trips through Europe until his honorable discharge from the service, after which they moved to New Jersey. Howard and Tilly lived in California, where he graduated from Fresno State College; in Allentown, Pennsylvania; and a short time in Florida before settling for good in Mechanicsburg, where they raised their 2 children.

Howard was proud to have been a newspaper reporter for the Lebanon Daily News for about 30 years. Making a difference was important to him, and even after retirement, he held part-time jobs or volunteered locally until just last year. He volunteered with the Antique Automobile Museum in Hershey and a homeless shelter in Carlisle, and he was especially proud of his volunteer work with Planned Parenthood. His part-time jobs varied from dressing up as costumed characters at Hersheypark to 10 years spent delivering medical supplies to long-term care facilities.

Several years after Tilly’s passing, Howard was lucky to find love again, and he and Ellie married in 2023. She made him “feel like he was 30 again!” Another true love of Howard’s was automobiles, particularly those from the 1940s and 1950s. His pride and joy were his 1952 GMC pickup and 1951 Kaiser. But he took meticulous care of any car he was responsible for, whether his own or a work vehicle. Mechanics often told him that his cars had the cleanest engines of any they had seen. Howard loved to drive, and his life was filled with road trips around the country. As a lover of planes and aviation history, he visited air museums wherever he came across them. Photography was another lifelong hobby, even developing his own photos in his darkroom in the basement. Supporting environmental causes was important to him also. These things he passed on to his children.

In his little corner of the world and beyond, Howard made life better with his kindness and goofy sense of humor. 

Rest in peace, sweet man. We love you and miss you so much.

Donations in his memory may be made to The Nature Conservancy or Planned Parenthood.