Arthur I. Howland

HOLDEN - Arthur I. Howland, 98, of Holden, Massachusetts, passed away on February 10, 2019 in Centerville, Massachusetts after a brief illness.

He is survived by his three adult children, Stephen Howland and his wife Louise of Centerville, MA, Craig Howland of Porter, ME, and Lori Drummond and her husband Mark of Livermore Falls, ME; six grandchildren, Cori Lonnett and her husband Jeffrey of Sterling VA, Jason Howland and his wife Nikki of West Boylston, MA, Rebecca Howland of NH, Althea Drummond of Portland, ME, and Emily and Abigail Drummond of Livermore Falls, ME; 3 great-grandchildren, Elianna and Jacob Howland of West Boylston, MA and Cade Lonnett of Sterling, VA; three brothers, Raymond, Roy and Albert Howland; and many nieces and nephews – especially his cherished niece Ellen Parrish of Redmond, WA. He is pre-deceased by his wife of 63 years, Dorothy M. (Nelson) Howland of Holden, MA, and siblings Thomas, Curtis, George & Robert Howland and Ruth Clifford, Edith Stonehouse, Eva Arkerson, and Lillian Cornish.

Arthur was born on October 11, 1920 in Ashland, Massachusetts, the fifth of twelve children of Curtis and Eunice (Barrows) Howland. In his youth, Arthur played on factory-sponsored baseball teams and enjoyed roller-skating, horse-shoes, and helping his grandfather Barrows with his furrier activities. He graduated from Framingham Academy and High School in 1940.

Arthur entered the Army Air Corps in August of 1942. After a series of tech schools for radio technician and radar technician, he was shipped out to England in July of 1944 where he joined the 8th Air Force, 446th Bomber Group at RAF Station Bungay in Suffolk, England. There he repaired/replaced radar units in B-24 Liberator bombers. After the War in Europe ended, he returned to New York City on the Queen Mary in July of 1945. He was Honorably Discharged on October 14, 1945.

After the war, during a roller-skating outing in Worcester, MA, he met the love of his life, Dorothy Mae Nelson. They were married on October 14, 1950 in Holden, MA. Arthur then joined Dorothy as a member of the First Baptist Church of Holden, where they were active as deacons, ushers and parishioners for over 60 years. After over 34 years working for Heald Machine and Harrington Richardson in Worcester and Reed Rolled Thread in Holden, Arthur retired in November of 1984. He joined The Greendale Retired Men’s Club of Worcester where he and Dorothy traveled on many trips and Arthur excelled in their bowling leagues. He treasured the many friends he made in the club. Arthur was the Sergeant-At-Arms for American Legion Post 42 in Holden. The 2018 Memorial Day Parade in Holden was dedicated to him.

Friends and family are invited to attend memorial calling hours from 1 to 3 pm on March 2 at the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main Street in Holden. Military honors will follow at 3 pm in the funeral home. Burial will be at a later date in Worcester County Memorial Park in Paxton, MA.

In lieu of flowers, it was Arthur’s wish that memorial donations be made to Wounded Warriors ( www.woundedwarriorproject.org ) or another Veteran’s organization of your choice.