Irving C. Howell

Working with Chris was great, he will be missed greatly.

Chris and I were not only St. Mary Academy classmates, but also friends, and our mothers belonged to the St. Mary's "Mother's Club". Mrs. Howell frequented Mass at St. Mary's and my mother worked in the rectory office, so they saw each other often. They remained friends for many years. Chris came to my house to play and I went to his. I will never forget the time Chris was in the hospital. It was shortly after Christmas and Santa Claus brought me a double holster with two pistols, one silver, the other, gold. My mother and I went to visit Chris. He liked my new Western attire so much that he asked to borrow one of the pistols to play with while he was in the hospital. He chose the silver one.
We went to different high schools, so we didn't see each other for those four years. Following my freshman year at Ocean County College, I began my 21-year military career, mostly outside of the United States. However, in the early 70s, I went home to Lakewood to visit my parents, and one day while in the ShopRite, there he was sporting a cool-looking Afro! I told him it looked better than Clarence Williams III's from the TV show, The Mod Squad. We reminisced, hugged and said goodbye. That was the last time I saw him.
I never knew until now that his first name wasn't Christopher, but one thing is certain; he was a friendly, caring and genuine human being. The world certainly lost one of the Good Guys.
My sincere condolences to his family.