Violet "Mae" Howard

Violet “Mae” Howard, 86, passed away peacefully with her loving family by her side on Friday, October 31st, 2025 in Casper. Mae was born in Camas, Washington on May 2nd, 1939 to Sam Wood and Violet Viola (Cross) Wood. She was raised and educated in Superior, Wisconsin before moving to Casper during her late teenage years. It was there that Mae married her husband Elmer Gochenour and started their family with Elmer Gochenour, Brenda Lee (Gochenour) Umberger, and Herbert “Herb” Lee Gochenour. Mae then married Jack T. Ross with whom she added more children to her growing family; Beverly (Ross) Brown, Jackie (Ross) King-Waggener, and Connie Ross. Mae later married Paul T. Howard in 1973 adding Brad Howard, Terri (Howard) Robinson, and Kenneth Howard to their beautiful family and spent the remainder of her joyful life raising their kids together in Gillette and Casper.

Together, with Paul and all of their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and multitude of friends, Mae shared many memorable experiences, traveling around the country, some internationally, and living life to the fullest. She made a career out of being a homemaker, caretaker, and working in the restaurant and hotel industry. She loved her garden the most, outside of spending time with ALL of her biological and extended family, whose events and holiday celebrations she never missed. Mae memorialized every occasion with countless photographs and prior to her passing, lovingly gifted every one of her children, and grandchildren, with those cherished memories in a personal album.

It was her love for any child and others whose paths she crossed, which kept her fulfilled. She was kind, loving, and caring to everyone she met, ultimately calling them her friends, or took them on as her own. She was a giver from every fiber of her being and included everyone around her in all family traditions and celebrations, making each person feel the most significant. She never missed the opportunity to help someone, provide a meal, or invite them into her home. She had the character of a saint, instilling in her family the value of giving, being present as much as possible, and that family is the most important in the end.

Mae is survived by her adoring husband, Paul T. Howard, Casper; her siblings Ruthie Day and Carol Mead, Casper; Willard “JR” Mead, Hulett; Dwight Mead, New Mexico; Raymond (Linda) Mead, Utah; Sandy Mitchell, Harold Wood, Arnold Wood, and Virginia Gochenour (who was like a sister) all of Oregon; and her children; Terri (Donny) Robinson, Herb Gochenour, Jackie (JD) Waggener, Kenneth Howard, and Connie Ross, all of Casper, Beverly Brown, Kansas; and Brad Howard (Belinda) Howard, Oklahoma; 24 grandchildren; 40 great children, and 7 great-great grandchildren, all of whom she loved and cherished dearly.

Mae was preceded in death by both of her parents, sisters Norma Jean Wood, Jean Grantham and Doris Mead Spease, brothers John Mead, Loyd Mead, Chuck Wood, Jerry Wood, and Louise Anderson; her infant child, Elmer Gochenour; daughter, Brenda Lee (Gochenour) Umberger; and three grandsons, Donald Walling, Wiley King and Hayden Brown.