Howard was born on July 15, 1944 in Beaver Dam to Howard C. and Elda Elaine (nee Key) Abel Sr. He graduated from Waterloo High School and enlisted in the United States Army, where he proudly served his country from 1961-1965. During his time in the service, Howard was a Green Beret in the Special Forces with Ranger Training and was an alternate for the 1964 Olympic Boxing team. On August 26, 1974 Howard was united in marriage to Sandra M. Abel in Birmingham, AL. Howard attended Georgia Tech University for engineering, took management classes at UW-Madison and was a printing Journeyman, all which helped prepare him to work as a printing pressman and supervisor at Perry Printing in Waterloo for many years. He was also a part-time police officer for Jefferson County and a volunteer fire fighter for the township of Quincey for 10 years. Howard served on the Beaver Dam City Council for three terms as the 4th Ward alderman and was on the Operations & Housing Committee.

Howard found himself very active in many area organizations. As a lifetime member of the John E. Miller American Legion Post 146, he was the Post Commander for five years and also served in the capacity of Vice Commander, a member of the firing squad and the Building/Fundraising Committee. Howard was a member of the veterans honor organization, Forty & Eight, where he was the Chef de Gare in Dodge County for one year, the Sous Cheminot of the 2nd District in Wisconsin, the Child Welfare Director for Grande State of Wisconsin for three years and part of the National Box Car Association for 10 years. He was a lifetime member of the AMVETS since its inception and was proud to be a member of the Elks Lodge 1540 for 29 years, serving as Lecturing Knight for two years. Howard also enjoyed being a member of the Columbus 4th of July Committee for five years. He was a member of First Ev. Lutheran Church in Beaver Dam.

Howard liked watching racing on both a local and national level. He was a true Dale Earnhardt, Sr. fan and enjoyed sponsoring Heath Weber at the local fairgrounds, where he was known as "Chief", for four years. He was a United States Auto Club official for Fire & Safety for five years. Howard was also a Badger hockey and football fan, loved Brett Favre, and enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was a regular attendee at McDonald's for coffee and also loved a good home cooked meal, whether at Edith's or he cooked it himself. Howard also looked forward to getting away and spending quality time with his family and grandchildren up north in White Creek, WI. Howard will be dearly missed by his family, friends and his pal, Buddy.

Howard is survived by his wife, Sandra Abel of Beaver Dam; his daughter, Dawn Weber of Beaver Dam; his son, Shannon (Shaunah De Witt) Abel of Fitchburg; his grandchildren, Kyle, Kole and Kirsten Weber; his siblings, Donald (Kathy) Nelson of California, Duane (Grace) Nelson of Watertown, Norman (Judy) Eggert of Waterloo, Judy Sterwalt of Juneau, Irene (Eugene) Skalitsky of Columbus, Leo Meyer of Waterloo, Carl (Bonnie) Eggert of Hayward, WI, John (Marlene) Eggert of Waterloo, and Linda (Dirk) Hightower of Rush, NY; and his brothers-in-law, Robert (Cheryl) Abel, Jay (Cindy) Abel and Jeffery (Brenda) Abel, all of Beaver Dam. He is further survived by many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Howard was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters, Betty (James) Wagener, Jean Abel and Joanne Broitzman; his brother, Robert (Phyllis) Nelson; his son-in-law, Heath Weber; and his nephew, Chad Eggert and other relatives.

A Memorial Service for Howard will be on Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. at First Ev. Lutheran Church, 311 W. Mackie St. in Beaver Dam with Rev. Dr. Mark Molldrem officiating. A Memorial Gathering will be held on Saturday, March 19, 2011 from 3-6 p.m. at Cornerstone Funeral & Cremation Services, 135 Keller Blvd. in Beaver Dam and also on Sunday from 3:00 p.m. until the time of Service at the Church. Legion members are invited for a walkthrough on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Graveside military honors will be provided at Oakwood Cemetery by the John E. Miller American Legion Post 146 of Beaver Dam.

Memorials in Howard's memory may be directed to First Ev. Lutheran Church, 311 W. Mackie St, Beaver Dam or to the American Legion Post 146, PO Box 146, Beaver Dam, WI 53916.

Cornerstone Funeral & Cremation Services in Beaver Dam is honored to be serving the family.

Click HERE to view Howard's Life Tribute Video.