Rosemary Frances Howell (Kuhn), Age 82

Rosemary Frances Howell passed away on March 23 after a brief illness. Her parents were Paul and Frances (Homan) Kuhn of Wheaton, Illinois. She was the first of three children, her sister and best friend Carol Ann, and a brother, Richard. She married James Joseph (Jim) Howell of Westchester, Illinois in 1959. They lived in Maywood and Elmhurst, Illinois until 1965, when Jim was transferred to the East Coast with their 5 children, and understandably chose to settle in Howell, NJ.They added 4 more children to their family in Howell. The family filled the church pews at Sunday mass, and often Rosemary would get asked, “Are all of those kids yours?”and she would proudly answer, “Yes they are”.

Rosemary and Jim maintained strong ties with their family members in Illinois and elsewhere, especially focusing on their kids’ grandparents by taking them all to Illinois for a few weeks every summer. They would be packed into a station wagon until they outgrew that and then would take 2 station wagons and had fun keeping track of each other with CB radios. The family went to family reunions, visited and played with many cousins, and attended Cub games and many museums. Rosemary enjoyed yearly visits from grandparents and especially her father who was a Mr. Fixit.She would tell us, “go ride your bikes up and down the curbs so grandpa has something to fix……”

Rosemary was always a self starter and overachiever.She put herself through Madonna Catholic High School in Aurora, Illinois by working in the school cafeteria and the local A & P, and traveled by train to get there.

The Catholic faith was important to Rosemary and Jim and they sacrificed to put all of their children through the Catholic grammar school of St. Veronicas in Howell. Jim coached the parish basketball teams for 30 years and Rosemary coached the cheerleading team for several years. Rosemary and Jim worked bingos, and even second jobs in order to do so. Rosemary, despite the full time job as a homemaker and mother of 9 active children, also worked at the local 7-Eleven at night where dad Jim also worked his second job. She was a fixture at St. Veronica grammar school events for many years, and at as many events as she could get to for the high school sports games of both her children and grandchildren. She was a member of the Howell High School P.A.T.

After her children were all finally grown, she worked in the St. Rose (Belmar) High School cafeteria for 10 years.

True to her character, even after “retirement”, Rosemary kept active in her community. She joined the St. Mary’s of the Lake Saint Vincent DePaul Society in Lakewood, and helped run the food and goods distribution to those in need.Rosemary was constantly thinking of others, buying things she could distribute at the pantry, including food and clothing items for the needy.

Rosemary was an excellent, wife, mother, homemaker, problem solver, advice giver, accountant, Mrs. Fixit, wallpaper installer, seamstress, crossword puzzle completer, and competitive board game player, especially Scrabble, Quirkle and the card game UNO. She hosted all the family events for holidays, and greatly loved and enjoyed the company of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Game night with her great grandkids was especially enjoyed. She kept track of where and what everyone was doing, and that was quite a lot of people. She had 9 children, 16 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren, and in-laws in her extended family.

Rosemary was predeceased by her husband, Jim, in October of 2001. Her love for him never ended, and she missed him terribly for a very long time.She was also predeceased by her parents Paul and Frances, her mother and father in law, Veronica and James Howell, her brother Richard and his wife Mary Kuhn, and her brother in laws, William and Thomas Howell.

She is survived by her sister Carol Howell, her brothers and sisters-in- laws, John and Mary Howell, and Ken and Jean Howell; her children Kathleen Kohan (Timothy), James W. Howell, Mary Donahue (William), Joan Osborne, Margaret “Peggy” Howell, Anne Hlava (Eric), Timothy Howell (Liz), Michael Howell (Carole) and Carol Jean “CJ” Burtnick (John); her grandchildren Kelly Karbownik (Daniel), Krista Sibole (Christopher), Tara McAuley (James), Theresa Jacobson (Bryce), William Donahue (Bridget), James Donahue, Eleanor Rafferty (Brian), Abigail Osborne, Caroline Osborne, Robert Payne, Kayla Payne, Kate Vella (Joseph), John Hlava, Rebecca Howell, Emily Burtnick, and Aidan Burtnick; great grandchildren Morrison and Julian Karbownik, Amelia and Felicity Sibole, Ryan and Erin Vella, Foster and Camilla McAuley, and Stella Rafferty, and a host of nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews throughout the country.

Viewing will be at Lakewood Funeral Home on Route 9 in Howell, NJ on Wednesday, April 3rd from 3-7 pm. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Veronica’s Church, Route 9 in Howell on Thursday, April 4th at 9:30 a.m. with internment to follow at Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery, 350 Province Line Road, Wrightstown, NJ08562.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Rosemary’s favorite charities, Wounded Warrior Foundation , Tunnels to Towers Foundation, or St. Vincent DePaul Society at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church in Lakewood, NJ.