Jack LeRoy Howe Jr.

1944 - 2024

Jack LeRoy Howe Jr., age 80, died at his home in Jackson, WY on Friday, October 4, 2024. Jack's family and friends will gather to remember him and honor his life on Saturday, November 30, 2024 (Texas vs. Texas A&M Gameday!) at his daughter's home in Austin. Feel free to wear burnt orange.

Jack was born in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, but his earliest memories are of living in Houston. In high school, he made the varsity football team his first year and started as defensive end. In his junior year, his older sister, Jane, insisted he should ask a friend of hers, Carrie Lindsay, to the Thanksgiving dance. She convinced him by declaring, "She's lots of fun! It will never get serious." They were married for 59 years.

In his senior year of high school Coach Royal came recruiting. It was not a hard sell. Jack was already impressed with Texas football. He loved Austin, the Hill Country, and Lake Travis, where his family had taken annual vacations. On his recruiting trip, he was wowed by the Engineering School. The only question was Mechanical or Chemical. He decided on Mechanical with a focus on Materials.

In the fall of 1962, it was off to Austin for six amazing, wonderful years. In football, the 1963 team were National Champions, the 1964 team defeated #1 ranked Alabama in the Orange Bowl, and in 1965 Jack earned All-Conference and Academic All-Conference honors as the team's starting center. He was also named Outstanding Man at UT that year. Finally, in 1966 and 1967, while completing his BS and earning his MS in Mechanical Engineering, Jack coached the freshman football teams that went on to become the core of the 1969 and 1970 back-to-back football National Champions.

Jack considered staying in school one more year to complete an MBA when his dad asked him, "Have you ever considered gainful employment?" He signed up for recruiting the next day. In the summer of 1968 Jack started with Phillips Petroleum Company. He worked for Phillips his entire career and was ultimately named Corporate Senior Vice President responsible for the Chemicals Group Worldwide. A personal highlight for the family was spending five years on assignment in Brussels, Belgium. A professional highlight was his 2020 induction into the University of Texas Mechanical Engineering Hall of Fame.

Jack retired in 1999 and moved to Jackson Hole, WY (aka "heaven") where he hiked, biked, down-hill and cross-country skied, fly fished, golfed, canoed, and even guided his own float boat down the Snake River until his glioblastoma diagnosis in March. He loved his life there. He was in constant awe of its beauty. He and Carrie always kept their attachment to Texas where they spent November and April in Austin and the Hill Country--the perfect time to attend Texas football games and enjoy the bluebonnets and wildflowers.

Jack was a curious and continuous learner, a natural leader, a believer in people, a loving husband, a beloved father, and a devoted and attentive Pop to his eight grandchildren. He was a humble man who led a big life. He always seemed to have a rainbow hanging over his head (evidenced by his many holes-in-one--with the last one coming later in life in front of Coach Royal). Jack's last words were "I didn't drop the ball." We could not have said it any better. He will be greatly missed.

Jack is survived by his wife, Carrie Lindsay Howe, and his three daughters and their families--Julie Howe and Jens Strecker and their daughters Annelie and Clara of Seattle; Jennifer and Sal Chavarria and their sons Salvador, Jack Carlos, Walt, and Kiko of Austin; Emily Howe, DVM and her daughters Ella and JJ of Seattle.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to St. Johns Hospice of Jackson, WY or the National Park Foundation.