Timothy Joseph Howard

Timothy Joseph Howard, lovingly known as “Timo” by his Iowa City friends and colleagues, age 62, went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on September 22, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. Per Tim’s wishes, his body was cremated at Gay and Ciha Funeral Home.

Tim was born on March 14, 1963, in Des Moines, Iowa to Ken and Judy Howard. He was welcomed home by his older brother, Ken Jr., and soon the family added another, Ann Elizabeth on the exact same day in 1964. Though life was good in Des Moines in the late sixties, the family moved to Knoxville, Iowa. The Howards lived on the east side of Knoxville, on South Seventh Street, and Tim attended East Elementary. Shortly after Tim’s youngest brother, John, was born in 1974 the family moved to the northwest side of Knoxville settling on Grandview Drive.

Growing up in the “blue house”, Tim made some lasting memories. He was extremely intelligent, a good student, and someone who excelled in multiple areas. The kids always said, “Tim is smarter than all of us combined.” His standardized test scores were off the chart, and school came very easy for him. Also, for some reason, Tim got the proverbial “swimming gene.” He earned countless medals and ribbons swimming for the Knoxville Swim Team. Tim also loved acting in his youth. He earned the lead in multiple high school and community productions. The highlight of his youth, however, was being a foreign exchange student in Mexico City in 1979. He loved Mexico and his host family. He even had learned enough Spanish, and acquired enough “street smarts” by Christmas 1979 to get the entire family out of a ticket for traveling the car pool lane. To say that Tim’s upbringing was all roses would, however, be a misrepresentation. He got into his fair share of trouble, especially with his sister and their friends. The stories these individuals could tell would make you smile, laugh and also probably cry.

Upon graduating from Knoxville High school in 1981, Tim moved to Iowa City where he lived the rest of his life. Though Tim never graduated from college, he did take multiple classes at the U and earned status in the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Tim loved to travel and took many trips “out east” as well as to foreign countries. Through his work at different restaurants, over the course of his life, Tim became pretty fluent in multiple languages including Spanish, Japanese and Korean. Heck, he even studied some Arabic, just for fun.

By societal standards, Tim was a loner. He lived alone, enjoyed the quiet of isolation, liked being and working independently, and always wore his favorite color, black. No matter how or when people worked to change him, there was no changing Tim. He was too proud and too stubborn to be someone different.

However, for those who knew Tim well, he was the kindest, most loving, most empathetic person one could ever meet. He was always there for family and friends. Whether it was a quick text, late night phone calls, a hand-written note, a message on Facebook or a short visit, Tim made time for others. In fact, after his passing, one of his best friends from Iowa City said, “Tim would give you the shirt off his back if you were his friend. You knew he cared”. No doubt that shirt would have been black.

Tim is survived by father Ken Howard, Sr. and friend Koreen; brother Ken Howard, Jr. (Ronda) and their children, Kendra (Monte) and Kyler (Sarah); sister Ann Marvelli (Fred) and their children Travis (Kara), Logan (Desiree) and Jordyn (Caleb); and brother John (Duana) and their children Kaden, Kellen and Karlyn as well as numerous family members, Knoxville and Iowa City friends and especially co-workers at Orchard on the Green.

Tim was welcomed into heaven by his mother Judy, maternal grandparents Dr. Charles and Margaret Duffy, paternal grandparents Claude and Faye Howard and multiple aunts and uncles on both the Howard and Duffy sides of the family.

Though we are all going to miss Timo, we take comfort in the fact that he is reunited with his mom (as we all knew he was her favorite) and also that his legacy will live on through the love he gave, the relationships he cherished, and the memories held close by those fortunate enough to have known him.

Bybee and Davis Funeral Home is serving the family. Online condolences may be left at www.BertrandFuneralHomes.com. A private family graveside service, per Tim’s wishes, will be held at a later date at Graceland Cemetery in Knoxville. RIP, Timo. We love you!