Walter Howell Jr.

Posted on December 6, 2023

Walter Howell Jr. of Steinhatchee, Fla., known to most people as “Junior,” finished his race and was taken home to glory on the morning of Dec. 4, 2023. He was devoted to his family, his church and his place on the Steinhatchee River that had become his home since 1979. He retired from Procter & Gamble Company after a well-respected 40-year career. In his off time, he spent many hours catching red bellies in local rivers. One of his most enjoyable activities was camping on the riverbank and setting out cat lines and bush hooks for a tasty meal. After retirement, he and his wife, Betty, were blessed to be able to see some of the places they had always wanted to see. He was always busy, working on a project or helping someone else. He could not sit still for long. The first 45 years of his life were spent in Perry, where he and his wife, Betty Jo, raised four of their five children. He loved raising and butchering his own pork, beef and poultry and growing a huge garden. He believed that you should work hard and provide everything that you could for the family with the resources at hand. He was what you call a “self-made, hardworking man” who imparted his strong work ethic to his three sons. He was the center of his family and was an anchor for a lot of people. In 1979, he and Betty moved to their “retirement” home in Steinhatchee where their youngest son grew up. Junior was born in Perry in 1935 to Walter Howell Sr. and Ola Mae Toole Howell. He had four brothers and eight sisters. He was preceded in death by: his wife of 65 years, Betty Jo Howell’ a daughter, Beverly Parker; four brothers, Baby Howell, Leroy Howell, Roscoe Howell and Jackie Howell; seven sisters, Baby Howell, Janette (Norman) Hendry, Juanita (Jake) Williams, Jeneva (Tack) Willis, Dorothy Howell and Betty Mae (Jack) Burke; and two brothers-in-law, Morris Winters and Jimmy Williams. He is survived by: three sons, Vance and Debbie Howell of Perry, Shannon and Vicki Howell of Niceville and Wade and Jolene Howell of Seymour, Tenn.; one daughter, Cindy Carter of Crawfordville; nine grandchildren, Jade, Jarvis, Jackie, Jennifer, Mikayla, Chip, Austin, Savannah and Addison; 14 great-grandchildren, Maddox, Lennox, Emma, Levi, Liam, Tate, Caden, Genisis, Lilyana, Ashlynn, Kynthia, Hiroshi, Haddon and Chason; and two sisters, Yvonne Winters and Sylvia Williams. Funeral services will be held Thursday, Dec. 7, at 11 a.m. at the Salem Baptist Purity Church, with visitation preceding the service at 10 am. Burns Funeral Home will be in charge of services.