Lee Buck "Lb" Howard, Sr.

ANGIER – Lee Buck “LB” Howard, Sr., 84, passed away peacefully with his family around him on Tuesday at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh. Born in Harnett County, he was the son of the late Milton Buck Howard and Lilla McLeod Howard.

Lee Buck Howard Sr, first born child of Buck and Lilla Howard, spent most of his life in Harnett County, NC. “LB” attained a 9th grade education and started working on the farm at a young age. In his early 20’s, he fell in love with his sweetheart Ann. Known to Ann’s family as “The Motorcycle Man”, he would ride Ann on his motorcycle while they were dating. They married and had 4 sons, Lee Jr, Benny, Steve and Teddy. As they remember, times were hard back then, and LB always told them, you won’t get anything from life unless you work for it. Providing for his family, LB worked long hours farming from sunrise to sunset. He farmed tobacco, wheat and soybeans, even driving a truck up the east coast delivering their tobacco to other states. Raising a young family, he sharecropped tobacco for a few years, before becoming a maintenance manager at apartment complexes. During this time as their children grew, a proud moment of his life was building their family home in Angier.

LB and Ann, along with their sons, then purchased land in Angier that would become their family land where their families, along with his brother Johnny and his family would ride horses, grow tractor-size gardens, have family pig-pickin’s, build barns for more horses, chickens, geese, cows and whatever farm animals were added. Always building things, LB constructed a “Bunk House” (of course, a family affair), complete with hitching post for saddling up the horses for family trail rides, ending the evening with campfires and stick biscuits. Some of the best memories were trail riding on the land, and at Leatherwood Mountains, camping alongside the creek. Give LB a horse, a tractor, some land and his family, and he was living life to the fullest. He was dedicated to his wife Ann, lovingly supporting her for many years through Alzheimer’s disease, and was saddened when she passed away at the young age of 68.

His sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren’s lives were enriched with their Papa – horse trail riding, tractor rides, bunk house campouts, stick biscuits, building fences and barns, tending animals, laughing around campfires, countless holiday and birthday celebrations, fishing, boating, beach and mountain trips. Hunting with his son and grandson, he and his grand-daughter-in-law were lost in circles trying to find their way out of the woods. Memories with LB spanned 4 generations with too many experiences and stories to count.

Later in life, he met LaRue and she brightened his days again. They would talk on the phone for hours and would be married in 2011. Playing Rummy card games together was a nightly ritual, and LB’s sons and daughters-in-law joined in on weekends. Now living in town, LB continued to walk, many miles all over town with his dog Buddy. Together LB and LaRue enjoyed trips with family to the beach, cookouts in their backyard, and had yard sales in the front yard. In Howard tradition, when their old barn shed was leaning a bit too far, LB’s sons and grandsons gathered together to hoist it up and secure it for years to come. In his later years, give him a deck of cards with LaRue and his sons, and he was happy. Together, they read the Bible, supported each other, gazed at the moon and watched many sunrises and sunsets.

LB truly had 84 years of a life rich in experiences, family and friends. His wisdom, building and fix-it know-how, kindness and Love is his legacy passed on to the many branches of his family tree. He woke early every morning with his cup of Maxwell House to watch the sun rise, knowing the quiet, simple profoundness of a sunrise and sunset. He is truly loved and will be sweetly missed.

A memorial visitation will be held from 12:00 to 2:00 pm on Saturday, December 3rd at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, Angier.

He is survived by his wife, LaRue Williford Howard of the home; step-daughter, Laura Honeycutt (Michael) of Angier; sons, Lee Buck Howard, Jr. (Christine-Marie) of Garner, Benny L. Howard, Sr. (Maria) of Siler City, Steve W. Howard (Joni) of Raleigh, Teddy R. Howard (Kim Marie) of Angier; brother, Donnie Ray Howard (Bonnie) of Boiling Springs; grandchildren, Alishia Gower (Josh), Stephanie Howard, Benny L. Howard, Jr. (Tiffany), Matthew Vincent Howard, Stephen Chance Howard, Dustin W. Howard (Cheryl), Nicholas Lee Howard (Lauren), Jeremy Ray Howard (Brittany), Morgan Johnson (Hunter); step-grandchildren, Cade Honeycutt (Hannah) and Ally Honeycutt; seventeen great-grandchildren; and one step-great-granddaughter.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Judy Barbour; and brother, Johnny Howard.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org in LB’s memory.