Matthew Charles Howell

1985 - 2022

Matthew Charles Howell, a lifelong resident of Alaska, died unexpectedly in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 10, 2022, at the age of 36. Matt was born in Fairbanks on June 9, 1985, to Robert Howell and Odeth Lopez Carr.
He attended school mostly in North Pole and graduated from North Pole High School in 2003. Matt was a talented athlete and grew into an accomplished racquetball player, placing first many times at Alaska State Racquetball Championships. In 1997 he was the Men's Novice State Champion. He was only 12 years old at the time. In 2001 he was ranked sixth in the nation for boy's 16 and under. He also enjoyed golfing, snowboarding, traveling, boating, motorsports of all types and being outdoors.
Matt started working in the construction industry at an early age, starting out working for his father and grandfather at Bud Howell Construction. There he learned to operate numerous types of heavy equipment. As a young adult, Matt worked with Chugach Industries and later with Chugach Government Services, eventually working his way to becoming a quality control manager. Matt worked on many large government projects and his career took him to numerous locations, including Georgia, Louisiana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington state, Hawaii, Alaska and Midway Atoll. Matt eventually moved to Maryland to be near his brother, David. There he worked as a quality control manager with Belt Built DFM Engineering and G-W Management Services. Matt also worked for a time in Guatemala for his uncle doing construction.
Matt is survived by his parents, Robert Howell and Odeth Lopez Carr; brother, Marcos Howell and wife Sindy, niece Sofia and nephew Marcos Jr.; brother, David Howell, wife Cecilia and nephew Liam; and sister, Katie Howell and nephew Aiden. Matt is also survived by his grandmother, Sofina Frendell, and his uncle, Carlos R Lopez, and cousins, Marissa, Kayla, Audrey, Isabella and Trish; aunt, Carol, and cousins, Jonathan, Joel, Timothy, Kevin and Andrew; his uncle, Ken, and cousins, Beth and Abigail.
Matt also had an extended family of Bill and Jane Martz and siblings Reagan, Wyatt, Ashton Martz, Courtney Sanford and her children Brayden, Taysia and Kailea, and Marcos and Cassie Case.
Matt is preceded in death by his grandparents, Charles (Bud) and Virginia Howell, as well as his grandfather, Carlos Lopez, and best friend, Logan Martz, and Uncle Brooks Bailey.
Matt was always known to have a smile on his face, dancing, laughing and striking up a conversation. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends and all who knew him.
A service for Matt is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 5, 2022, at Sanctuary Pentecostal Church, 907 23rd Ave., Fairbanks, Alaska.
An outdoor celebration of life gathering for Matt will be scheduled for the summer of 2022.