C. Howard Jr.

C. Vernon Howard Jr., 82, of Madison, passed away on Thursday, May 25, 2017 at Countryside Manor in Sheboygan. He was born on January 29, 1935 in Council Bluffs, IA.
Vern grew up in Sioux Falls, SD and graduated from Washington High School with the class of 1953. He received a Navy ROTC Scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison in September of 1953. During his summer breaks in college, he went on active duty for the US Navy, twice on the battleship USS Wisconsin. He majored in Economics at the UW and received both his BS degree and his Commission as an Ensign in the US Navy on June 21, 1957. The next day, he married his college sweetheart, Marilyn Ann Tasker, of Racine, WI. The newlyweds made their first home in San Diego, CA, the home port of the destroyer, USS Bausell, to which Vern had been assigned as a Gunnery and Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer. The USS Bausell was then deployed twice to the Pacific and Asia.
In 1960, at the end of his tour of duty, Vern entered into the University of Michigan Law School, graduating in 1962. He then became an associate attorney with the Madison Law Firm of Stroud, Stebbins and Stroud, now known as Stroud, Willink and Howard, with whom he practiced law for over 40 years. Vern was active in the State Bar of Wisconsin and in the Dane County Bar Association, serving one year as President of the latter. He was a long time fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Council, and for several years taught a one-semester course in Estate Planning as an adjunct Professor at the UW Law School.
Vern and Marilyn were active members of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Madison. A long time member of the Madison Downtown Rotary Club, Vern served as its President for one year during 1983-84.
Vern was preceded in death by his father, Carlton Howard Sr., his mother, Margaret Pemberton Howard and by the love of his life, his wife, Marilyn Ann Tasker Howard, who left this world on March 19, 2008 as a victim of cancer.
He is survived by his two sons, Carlton Howard III "Trey" and his wife, Michelle of St. Paul, MN, their son, Trevor and daughters, Lauren (Andrew) and Lindsay; and his son, Dr. Walter Howard and his wife, Joanne of Sheboygan Falls and their daughters, Jenna and Carlie. He is also survived by one brother, David (Sandra) Howard of Lake Barrington, IL and their children, Dr. Matthew (Wendy) Howard, and Sarah (Brett) Weyls and their sons, Hudson and Bates. Vern is also survived by one sister, Sarah (Sally) Howard of Minneapolis, MN.
In lieu of flowers a memorial fund is being established for the Madison Rotary Foundation. The club has a website ( www.rotarymadison.org ) for online donations. Checks can be made out to Madison Rotary Foundation and sent to Rotary Club of Madison, 2 S. Carroll St. Ste.255, Madison, WI 53703. Please note "In Memory of C. Vernon Howard" in the memo section for both types of donations.
An informal gathering of family and friends will be held on Friday, June 9, 2017 between 10AM-12PM at the Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Rd., Madison to socialize and honor Vern's life. A private burial of cremains will take place at Forest Hills Cemetery.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
www.CressFuneralService.com