Thomas Lee Howard

Thomas Lee “Tom” Howard, 65, lifetime Kittitas County resident, passed away on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 in Moses Lake.  A celebration of life will be held in the spring with details to be announced. 

Tom was born on October 4, 1956, along with his twin sister Tanya, to Lee & Maxine (Allemand) Howard.  Tom grew up in the Kittitas Valley and attended the local schools.  He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in January of 1974 and served for six years before his honorable discharge in 1980. He married his high school sweetheart, June Perkins, on February 22, 1975 and they made their home briefly in Quincy before moving to Kittitas.

Tom had a long and successful career path in a variety of different fields.  While living in Quincy, he worked as a security guard and reserve police officer.  After moving to Kittitas, Tom worked for many years as a mechanic at the Husky Truck Stop (now the Flying-J) in Ellensburg and later worked for Calaway Trading on the hay press.  Along the way he also enjoyed working for various local farmers in the valley and spent time at the City of Kittitas both in Public Works and at the sewage treatment plant.  Perhaps, most notably, he served a long career as a volunteer Firefighter/First Responder for the City of Kittitas and Kittitas County Fire District 2. Tom signed up for Search and Rescue activities whenever possible and truly enjoyed helping others alongside his brother, Cecil. Emergency response was his passion.

After June passed in 2007, Tom “semi-retired” and spent time working as a Private Investigator and Process Server while also picking up side work as a tow truck operator for D&M Motors.

Tom enjoyed anything having to do with the outdoors - hunting, fishing, shooting guns, kayaking, diving and riding motorcycles were some of his favorites.  He was also an avid collector and flyer of radio controlled planes and participated in many mountain man reenactments.

Tom is survived by his children Cecil Howard of Ellensburg; Kenny (Lyla) Howard of Kittitas; April (William) Ligon-Bruno of Arlington; grandchildren Dylan, Ian, Cody W., Connor, Emily, Thomas, Dakota, Haley, Cody V., Wyatt, Faith and Riley as well as great granddaughter Aubrie.  He is also survived by his brother Cecil and sisters Tanya, Tammy,Pat, Crystal, Teresa, Nancy and Darsha.  He was preceded in death by his wife June, daughter Christina, his parents and his step-father, Kenny Von Essen.

Memorial contributions in Tom’s honor are suggested to the Kittitas County Veterans Coalition, 507 N Nanum Street - Suite 117, Ellensburg.

Johnston & Williams Funeral Home and Crematory of Ellensburg has been entrusted with caring for Tom and his family.  Online condolences may be left at www.johnston-williams.com