Daniel Jay Howard
Eulogy
Daniel Jay Howard was born on May 14th, 1959; the 6th child and 5th son of Edwin and Sara Howard of south Phoenix.
He began his life on a sparse acre of desert from which the South Mountains made up his back yard. In his early years he was raised equally by his older siblings and his middle-aged parents.
The rural peacefulness of his desert youth was disrupted and left behind to teen years marked by departure of his adult siblings, his father’s career change, his mother’s increasing illness, and at age 15, the untimely death of his father. He finished high school looking into an uncertain future, but took immediately to the opportunity to learn locksmithing from our eldest brother who was working in a tiny lock shop on the northwest corner of Cave Creek Road and Cactus. He stayed on working for Accurate Lock Service after his brother left the shop, and just a few years later, at only 20 years old, with another youthful and inexperienced partner, facilitated the proprietor’s retirement by purchasing the business.
Dan learned to run the business by the seat of his pants, with a combination of good luck, good advice, good decisions, a lot of hard work, a curious mind and most of all, a personality which drew people to him and brought out the best of from everybody he met. He openly gave the best of himself to his friends, family, his customers and employees, never expecting anything in return.
As the business grew and prospered, he increasingly took on various forms of outdoor recreation. By his mechanical skills and eye for a good deal, he scrapped together the toys to facilitate his own brand of outdoor thrill recreation. Off-road four-wheeling Jimmy, trail climbing dirt bikes, and eventually a jet boat for exploring Arizona’s great canyon reservoirs and the thrill of skiing on water. Soon enough he was skiing on snow, and as he did with all these preoccupations, he undertook it with passion, aplomb, skill, grace and a pinch of wild abandon.
He made new friends with each new recreation, and turned his old friends on to his passions, teaching all of us he touched, a bit of riding technique, a ski turn, or new nurf board trick, and a passion for fun and the unabashed pursuit of happiness. Skis evolved into snow board, and to dirt bikes he added street and touring motorcycles.
Dan had two sons, Jason, now 22, and Jeremy 15. He was committed to these boys and always held their well being foremost in his life. He taught his boys how to fix locks, build a house, rebuild an automobile or motorcycle engine, to ski, to ride, but especially self confidence -- that they have it within themselves to do anything they want to do. He led by example, showing them how to honestly love and live life to the fullest. Dan was never limited by anything more than not having enough time to do everything he could imagine. If he had lived to be 80 he probably would still have never gotten it all done.
Always wanting to share his passion with others, he worked to become a trip captain for the Alpine Ski Club. It was on one of those tours, in which he was always sharing his skill and enjoyment of the sport with others, so that all might have the best possible experience, that he met the love of his life in Penny Archdale. It was in 1989 he met this gentle woman powerhouse who would encourage him and work with him, ever raising their sights, goals and accomplishments together.
After a 4-year courtship the two of them became engaged to marry on a starry night on the southern Italian coast, and after a short additional 4-year engagement, they were married on their forested property in Durango, Colorado. Appropriate to their beliefs, their passion for the sport, and their uniquely home brewed lifestyle, they were married among the aspens and freshly fallen snow, in their beloved southwestern Colorado mountains.
With Penny he became conversant in Italian, improved his Spanish, and traveled in Europe. He took classes in business and ever undertook an effort to become a better person.
Dan was not a religious man, but certainly had a spiritual side. He celebrated the creation of the earth and the miracle of life. He worshiped in the church of Glen Canyon, the temple of the Bradshaw Mountains, in the chapel of the Amalfi coast. He celebrated the freedom of the human spirit and the fantastic capabilities of the human body.
Dan was a special friend to all those whose lives he touched. His generosity, his innate trust of his fellow humans, his insatiable appetite for fun, his consistent honesty, his continual efforts to help others, made an indelible impression on those of us who had the honor of knowing him.
Dan’s life ended in the early morning hours of May 13th, 2004, surrounded by friends and family, as injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident the previous evening took their toll. He died the day before what would have been his 45th birthday. He is survived by his wife Penny, his two sons Jason and Jeremy, five siblings, a small handful of cousins, and numerous 1st and 2nd nieces and nephews. His companionship will be missed by all.
Paul Howard
15 May 2004
