Obituary of Ralph Arnold Howard, Jr.

With heavy hearts, we announce that our beloved father, son, brother, and grandfather, Ralph Arnold Howard, Jr. of Chapel Hill, NC and formerly of Cocoa Beach, FL passed away at home on October 21, 2024, at the age of 60. Diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in August of 2023, he faced his diagnosis with courage and determination and was able to give his family and loved ones the gift of time together over the past year. 

Ralph leaves behind a host of relatives and friends who continue to love and cherish him dearly, including his mother, Shirlee Todd Howard, sons, Daylland, Devin, Christopher, Ethan and Matthew; a daughter, Shammell, sister, Nicole (James) Wade and half-sisters, Adrienne (Larry) Blow and Monica Martin, an uncle, Walter (Rhonda) Todd, an aunt, Hazel Mathis, cousins, Angela Gordon, Morgan (Lamar) Patton, Blair Todd and Walter Todd, Jr.; nieces, Erin (Aaron) Horn, Jasmine Wade and Taryn Blow; nephews, Geno and Andre Blow, Dominique Howard and Cameron Wade, a granddaughter, Nora, and his former wife, Karen Allen-Howard, who cared for him through his battle with cancer. Ralph was preceded in death by his father, Ralph Arnold Howard, Sr. and grandmother, Jessie Crosby. He also had a tight circle of friends and colleagues with whom he remained closely connected and whose friendship and kindness were magnified over the past year.

An introspective man who chose his words wisely, Ralph was a respected engineer, health and fitness enthusiast and avid sportsman whose grace, temerity, brilliance and self-discipline were handed down to his sons. He introduced them to his love of basketball early on and would occasionally take one or two along to watch his beloved New Jersey Nets as they were back then on a school night, much to their mother’s dismay. He passed on his love for computers and all things tech, comic books and superheroes too, enjoying movie nights and robust discussions about which versions of Spiderman were even worth watching with his boys over the past year as his health declined. Ralph, showed his love and adoration for them in ways both big and small, from his support of their dreams and inability to say “No” to anything they wanted to his insistence on making lunch and meal-prepping family dinners long after they could easily have taken on that task themselves. His children knew that they were loved and that was all that mattered to him. 

An intimate celebration of Ralph’s life will be held at The Parlour at Manns Chapel, 175 Poythress Rd., Chapel Hill, NC on Friday, December 6, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. Gifts in Ralph’s memory can be made to Camp Royall, 250 Bill Ash Road, Moncure, NC 27559  https://www.autismsociety-nc.org/camp-royall/.

Arrangements are in the care of Walker's Funeral Homes 11680 15-501 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27517, 919.942.3861. Online condolences may be shared at www.walkersfuneralservice.com