Howard Cales Vann

Howard Cales Vann January 26, 1934 – September 27, 2025 Howard Vann was born on January 26, 1934 in Cadwell, GA. He was the fifth of six children born to Thomas Jefferson Vann and Allie Fordham Vann. Howard had four older siblings, Durwood, Evelyn, Edna and John. His younger brother, JR, was born in 1938, so there is a 21 year age span for all six children. When Howard was a small child, the Vann family was thriving as sharecroppers in South Georgia. Unfortunately, the great depression affected them along with the rest of the country, then a horrific tragedy changed their lives forever. Howard was only 4 years old when he witnessed his father's murder. A deranged neighbor shot Thomas to death in front of his young son. His three oldest siblings were married with their own families, so Allie was a widow with three children at home – a teenager, a 4 year old and an infant. Howard had to grow up quickly. Even as a young child, it was his job to take care of JR while his mother and older brother worked in the fields. He also had to fetch and carry water out to the fields every day. JR confirmed that Howard was a renowned and proud Mama's boy who was trusted to keep the family money safe even though he was a kid. Allie and her children eventually left the farm and moved to Thomaston. Allie opened a small restaurant and Howard worked there after school cleaning up. Howard's oldest brother, Durwood, lived in Thomaston with his young family. Durwood and his wife, Myrtis, became Jehovah's Witnesses and introduced Bible truths to Allie and her two youngest sons. They all attended Bible meetings and Howard even gave short Bible talks as a child. Tragedy struck again when a drunk driving accident permanently crippled Allie and seriously injured Howard when his face went through the windshield. Allie was not able to work, so Howard quit high school at age 16, moved to an Atlanta boarding house, and got a job at the J.P. Stevens cotton mill so that he could support his mother and younger brother. Once established, he moved Allie and JR from Thomaston. Atlanta became their permanent home. At age 18, Howard went out on a blind date with 15 year old Juanita Lambert arranged by a mutual friend who wanted a double date with Howard's younger nephew. Howard and Juanita had an argument on their first date, with both agreeing to never see each other again. After a lot of pressure from mutual friends, they went on more dates and quickly became a couple. They had an on-again, off-again romance for three years and eventually got married in May 1955. Their only child, Donna J. Vann was born in October 1959. During their entire 67 years of marriage, they never stopped arguing and never stopped loving each other. Although they squabbled on endless minor issues, they had the same value system. They were in complete agreement on all of the important things such as love of each other, love of both families, commitment, honesty and trust. They both had severe childhood trauma of losing their fathers at ages 4 and 5, so keeping their small family together and safe was their number one priority. Howard had a hard time settling into permanent employment, changing jobs every few months. Fortunately, Juanita worked full-time, which allowed him time to find his niche. Eventually, he discovered the joy and heartache of self-employment. He ran a furniture delivery service for Charles S. Martin Wholesale for 30+ years until Martin's went out of business. He worked at other local furniture companies until he retired in the early 2000's. Howard was also blessed to have his younger brother, JR, as his constant companion during most of his work life since JR worked for Martin's and lived 6 houses down the street. Anyone who met Howard found out immediately that he loved cars and trucks. He had several Ford trucks for his business and considered them part of the family. During the 1960's and early 1970's, Howard was exclusively a Ford man who loved to buy a new Galaxy or LTD every year. He became a dedicated Cadillac man in 1974 when he fell "head over heels" in love with a yellow 1975 Coupe Deville. He had to have that car despite the yellow velvet cloth interior – not the most practical choice for a family with a teenager and a spoiled 8-pound poodle. He loved to trade cars, so there was a new Cadillac under the carport every 1-2 years. He always said that he bought the new Cadillac for Juanita and the new Ford F-150 truck for himself, but everyone knew that both were for him!! Howard was very devoted to Juanita during several major health crises. He didn't leave her side for several months in 2000 while she recovered from life-threatening cardiomyopathy. In 2010, Howard was Juanita's constant companion during a grueling 11 day hospital stay and a 6 month recovery from a knee replacement surgery with extensive complications. In 2017, he took Juanita for 30 days of radiation treatments for a benign brain tumor. At age 89, Howard visited Juanita at Piedmont Hospital every day for 20 days straight before she passed away in March 2023. He loved his wife deeply and never fully recovered from losing her. During his final years, Howard enjoyed good health until the last two months. He loved to read the newspaper, watch old Western TV series, visit with his brother JR, eat home-cooked meals and argue with his daughter and their old calico cat, Heidi. Howard loved animals and treated Heidi like his baby – she was truly her "Poppa's girl". He was devastated when Heidi passed away in September 2024 at the age of 17. Howard prayed every day to our heavenly Father, Jehovah. He begged Jehovah to remember him in the resurrection so that he can be reunited with Juanita, his beloved parents and siblings. We look forward to seeing Howard very soon in the promised resurrection. The family would like to thank the nursing and support staff of Delmar Gardens for their care and concern. Over the last two months, they have become an extension of our family and we love them for taking care of Howard and helping us. Special thanks to the hospice nurses (especially Sam) from Compassus for your compassion and expertise during Howard's final few days. We would also like to thank the Northwest Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses for their love, prayers and concern during this difficult time. Funeral Services will be held Thursday, October 2, 2025 12:00 p.m. at Davis-Struempf Funeral Home Chapel with Gordon Guthrie officiating. Interment will follow at Georgia Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will receive friends for visitation prior to the service Thursday from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Howard's name to the American Heart Association at https://www.heart.org/