So very sad to hear of Howard's passing. Worked with Howard in Gloucestershire and while 2gether NHSFT provided MH/LD services in Herefordshire too. What a truly professional, personable and capable Finance Director he was. Lovely guy too, with a great sense of music. Deep condolences to friends and family.

Returning from maternity leave to this awful, awful news is just heart-breaking.

Such a lovely man, so friendly and supportive. There are just no words.

Sending much love to Howard's family, friends and colleagues.

Just heard the news. Very sad to hear that a man dedicated to helping the lives of others and supporting his NHS colleagues has gone. Sending condolences to family and friends. Rest in peace Howard

So sad to hear this news. I knew Howard from our Industrial Relations tutorial group at Leeds Uni in 1983. Paths crossed frequently in the NHS plus plenty of football discussions. His commitment to the NHS shone through.

Howard was a very kind hearted person and he was always up for a chat at any point of his jam packed day and even if he was stressed he would always have a smile and was up for a laugh, he will be hugely missed through out and my thoughts go out to his family in these hard times.

Rest in Peace 

Howard was a funny, calm, kind, clever man who loved his family and had profound respect for his colleagues and the people he served. I have posted some memories in the Stories section so here I will just say we were lucky to know him.


Rest in peace Howard

I can't seem to find the right words, I am devastated to be writing this. Howard was such a kind and gentle man. He was so much more than a finance director and I miss his smiling face, our daily chats and having someone I could go to, to ask the numpty question - I am still waiting for you to answer my economics question Howard !!

It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Howard, I am sorry we didn't get chance to give you the farewell you deserved. Sending love to your wife and children.

Rest in peace dear colleague and friend x

Howard was a complete professional who led his team and collaborated with colleagues with empathy, humour, technical expertise, courtesy, resilience and patience.  I was very fortunate to work with him in my first NED role at Wye Valley as he guided me through the complexities of NHS Finance. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at such a sad and unexpected time.

As with so many I am one of the privileged who got to work with this wonderful man.
What a loss - there are not enough words to honour this kind, funny, endearing man. Good Bless you Howard.

Just heard this sad news. I knew Howard for over 20 years working alongside him in Gloucester and Hereford. One of the nicest people I have ever met. Gentle and supportive and with a great sense of humour. Will never forget the banter we had as Liverpool and Everton fans. A true gent who I will sorely miss. Taken before his time.

I'm totally stunned to hear this dreadful news; I sit here shocked and unable to quite believe it.  I had the pleasure of working alongside him for several years and found him to be a true gentleman and I know that he will be sorely missed.

RIP.

I am truly gutted to be writing this message.

It was a privilege to work with Howard. I will miss catching up on the occasions we were both in the office. Howard always had time for even the most trivial of queries. He had patience and respect for all his colleagues. He took time to get to know me and always asked about family and how my little boy was doing. I will miss the wise words of parenting advice.

Howard thank you for your support and guidance and the laughs along the way. We were all so lucky you had touched our lives.

Rest in Peace x

I am so sad to hear this awful news. Howard was the kindest and most compassionate gentleman. His dedication to the NHS and WVT was inspirational. I learnt a great deal from him and I wish he had longer with us. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.
Jayne x

Rest in peace Howard.

My thoughts are with your family at this sad time.

Very sad to hear the news. Howard was very helpful and supportive with ideas to improve ENT services. He was always polite and a true Gentleman.
He will be missed.
my sincere condolences to his wife and his family.

Howard was always a gentleman and took time to speak to everyone. He would often pop into the office for a catch up to see how we were regardless of how busy he was. He will be sadly missed by us all.

Howard was a lovely, considerate gentleman, thoughtful and kind. He was very helpful and supportive with all the finance queries from the postgraduate medical centre and he will be greatly missed. My sincere condolences to his wife and children at this very sad time.

Howard a lovely gentle man who always had time for everyone.
Thoughts are with your family at this very sad time

I'm reading all these tributes and Howard bet you would be shocked how much you had been loved and admired so much. You were an absolute star. You and Gillian were an absolute dream team. Best couple I have ever met. xxx

What a lovely, caring and decent man you were. My life has been better for knowing you. I think of all the support over the years you gave to me and others. I hope you are somewhere peaceful and magical

I saw Howard for the first time in years last Autumn, in a masked queue outside a supermarket. We caught up only briefly but promised we would do so properly over a few drinks as soon as possible. I am devastated that we'll never be able to do that.

Howard recruited me into Cheltenham and Tewkesbury PCT in 2004, and was the best role model anyone could want. No matter what was going on he always had time, and kindness, to spare. He was a coach, a mentor, and set a standard as a compassionate gentleman who had a wonderful dry humour.

Howard always spoke of his family with love and affection, and my thoughts and prayers are with you all. He will always be a person I hold in the highest esteem, and will remember fondly for the rest of my life.

Rest In Peace, Howard.

I feel very privileged to have worked with Howard. Always professional but with a kindness, fairness and passion that it was always a pleasure. His brilliant sense of humour never failed to make me smile. A great loss. Thank you for all you support Howard and rest in peace.

Rest in Peace Howard. Trust Headquarters is not the same without him, he brought happiness and laughter to all of us. My thoughts are with his family at this deeply saddening time.

Can't quite believe I'm writing this. Howard was a such a lovely man to work with. Always kind and generous and a real gentleman even when he was delivering news you didn't want to hear!

Think of your family in these difficult times. Hopefully all these fantastic tributes will help.

So sad to hear of his passing. I worked under Howard since he started in Hereford. Always had time to give even when he was 'up to his eyes' with meetings, deadlines, etc. He had a great sense of humor with a ready smile. He gave a fantastic retirement speech when I finished full time working. so kind and generous with compliments. Howard I'm so sorry you didn't get to enjoy your well earned retirement. Sending best wishes to his family.

Howard was a truly gentle man. I had the enormous pleasure of working with him at Gloucester Royal Hospital. He had a quiet humour and a great sense of fun. 
The loveliest and the best of men. R.I.P. Howard.

Deeply saddened by this news. Howard was a gentle man who I knew through work, he always did all he could to help our hospital and all our patients.
God bless you Howard.

I am so sorry to hear the news of your passing Howard

After your many years dedication to the NHS you deserved a long and happy retirement.
We all have many memories of you, mine mainly revolve around finance and football. Thanks for being so generous when Liverpool won again!

Best wishes to your family in these sad times
Sue

I am so very sorry for the loss of such a genuinely good man. I wasn't lucky enough to have known Howard as well as those who write here, I met him when I joined the board of WVT as an ANED. I was always equally impressed by his kindness, his calming nature and his wry wit.
My sincerest condolences to his family and all those who loved him.

As with so many others I was shocked to hear of Howard’s passing. I worked with him in Gloucestershire in a number of different roles and organisations.
He really was a true gentleman, his smile and sense of humour appreciated on so many occasions. One of life’s greats, what a loss. RIP Howard.

Totally shocked and saddened to be writing a tribute to Howard who I worked with at Cheltenham and Tewksbury PCT. He recruited me and I remember laughing alot at the interview and subsequently! He had a wicked sense of humour and made work fun. My thoughts are with Gillian, James and Harriet . Howard talked about you all with such pride. He was a very humble and kind man and an inspirational manager. I feel lucky to have known him. 

I have worked in the NHS for nearly 38 years and I don't think that I have ever come across anyone as kind, polite and professional as Howard. He always remained calm (on the surface anyway) despite all of the pressures of managing the finances of such a complex organisation. He always had a kind word, a sensible and measured contribution and could always deliver a killer punchline with the sincerest of expressions.
I am very lucky to have known him and to have benefitted from all of his qualities. My thoughts go out to his family who hopefully know how much he was loved and respected by us all.

I have learnt so much from Howard and like everyone have the utter most respect for him.

A few things which I will have always remember about Howard are;

a) The lovely smile
b) Being told off in meetings by him yet don't know you have been told off :)
c) The calamines in him (never seen by me in any DoF)

My prayers to his family and love ones.... a great loss indeed.

Howard always came across as gentle, calm and thoughtful, but with an inner core of integrity - someone you could completely trust, and a model leader. 

My thoughts are with his family and friends and hope they might draw some comfort by knowing how widely he was liked and respected

Not, how did they die, but how did they live
Not, what did they gain, but what did they give
These are the units to measure the worth
Of a person, regardless of birth.

Not, what was their church, nor what was their creed
But had they befriended those really in need
Were they ever ready, with a word of good cheer,
To bring back a smile, to banish a tear.

Not, what did the sketch in the newspaper say
But how many were sorry when they passed away

One of so many truly sorry Rachel x

Howard, we all miss you so much. You are the kindest, most patient person I have met and worked with. You always had time and made time for people, putting them first before yourself. Sending big hugs to you, rest in peace. My thoughts are with your family at this very difficult time xxx

Howard once said to me that he wasn't good with numbers, I had tears running down my face because I was laughing so hard. His sense of humour was legendary, dry and quite unexpected.

I can find no words to express the loss of this truly lovely man. In my mind Howard is a gentle, kind, funny and forgiving guy, always ready with a smile....the sweetest of residing memories.

Rest easy, Howard x

Howard mainstay of WVT …..

Always calm, caring and able to say so much through a twinkle of the eye....

Supportive, human, gentle and unflappable through the ups and downs of managing the WVT financial landscape .....

I cannot quite believe he has gone.....taken far too soon and I know many of us will shed tears of sadness xxx

It is extremely hard to pay tribute to someone you had so much respect for in a few short sentences.

Whenever we spoke, the first thing you would always say was ‘how are you?’ - which completely sums you up.

I will be forever grateful for the encouragement, opportunities, support and friendship over the 13+ years I reported to you, I’m just so sorry it ended all too soon.

A true gentleman in every sense of the word.

Gillian, James and Harriet are in my thoughts.

I am so sorry to hear the news of Howard’s passing. I worked with Howard in Cheltenham and always found him to be a true gentleman. A knowledgeable and kind soul.

My thoughts are with his family. RIP x

It was such a privilege to get to know Howard and to work with him as a NED at Wye Valley. He was always generous with his time, wisdom and patience; always genuine in his professionalism and relationships. My deepest condolences to his family.

Deeply saddened to hear of Howard’s passing. We worked together at GHNHSFT for several years. Howard was without question one of the nicest, most professional delightful gentlemen that I ever had the pleasure of working with.
A very great loss.
Rest peacefully Howard, my thoughts are with your family at this most sad time.

I worked with Howard for a number of years at GRH and he was a wonderful boss. So calm and thoughtful and a real gentleman. So sad to hear this news and my thoughts go to Gillian, Harriet and James.

Lynda x

Tall in stature, even taller in his professionalism, kindness and devotion to his teams. A really special man who will be sorely missed...but we can all be assured that the fond memories we all have will help ease the pain of losing him.
My thoughts to his dear family who will hopefully gain much comfort from these tributes.

I was privileged to have worked with Howard for 8 years during my time at WVT as a Non Executive member of the Board. It was a real pleasure to work with such a consummate professional. He would always ease the tension of difficult Board discussions with good grace and pithy insights, patiently explaining the joys of finance to those of us with a non-financial disposition. 

Howard was a good man. It was a pleasure to have known him, always big-hearted, gracious, generous with his time, patient, good humoured, wise and unflappable. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time.

I met Howard a few times earlier this year, as part of my role with Philips. He immediately impressed as both a thoughtful and open person and we were able to establish a good rapport in a short time.

I am very sad to hear this heartbreaking news of his passing - Howard came across as a kind and pleasant man who was looking forward to retirement and I can only imagine the huge sense of loss being felt by his loved ones at this difficult time. With my deepest condolences.

Howard will be truly missed. I've had the pleasure of working with him over the past 12 years - in that time he has supported and encouraged my professional development and for that I will always be grateful. He would always make time for you and was genuinely interested in his team.

I will remember his humor, calmness, knowledge and integrity. He was a real gentleman and had a kind heart.

Howard was taken far too soon.

My thoughts are with his family. Rest in peace.

I really don't know where to begin, this is not a tribute I was expecting to have to do and it breaks my heart; there are way too many words to write. Howard, I am so proud to have been your PA at Cheltenham & Tewkesbury PCT. It was an absolute privilege to have worked with you and although we worked hard we also laughed a lot. We were a great team and you the best boss I have ever worked with as well as a great friend (apart from when Man Utd beat Everton!). It seems so unfair that you have been taken from us and way too soon. A true friend is never truly gone, their spirit lives on in our memories. Thinking of Gillian, Harriet and James at this very sad time. Rest in peace Howard

I met Howard when I joined WVT as an ANED in 2019, he was so insightful, informed, kind and hugely dedicated. He will be truly missed. My thoughts are with his family.

I only knew Howard for a short time and I found him to be a good man of both conviction and dedication.

A Gentleman. Farewell.