HOWSE, James Ellis "Jim"
Nov. 22, 1951 - Feb. 14, 2022.
Jim was born in the Pine Belt town of Waynesboro, Mississippi, where he played basketball for the Buckatunna Buccaneers. Raised on a cattle ranch, he maintained a practical, level-headed approach to life. 'There's little you cain't learn from life watchin' a cow. Just don't stand behind 'em. They'll kick hard.' In 1970, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving as welder aboard the USS Mt. Whitney, an amphibious Blue-Ridge Class ship of the American
Command Atlantic Fleet. He met his wife of 39 years Peggy Lynn Howse on a blind date in Norfolk, Virginia, in March, 1974; they married in 1976. After a break in service, Jim joined the U.S. Army in 1976, just before he was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. His career was varied and adventurous,
moving between active duty Army, the Mississippi and Ohio National Guards before retiring fully in 2011. In 2013, he and his wife Peggy began their own transport company and
traveled the length and breadth of North America before
Peggy's death in 2015. Welder, long-distanced trucker, and entrepreneur, Jim was a laid-back, easy going guy, right up until he wasn't. He loved his wife, his kids, bourbon, NASCAR, the New Orleans Saints, and his friends, though in later years he became a hermit, after the death of his wife Peggy in 2015. He is survived by his two children Rachel Howse Binnington and James 'Jay' William Howse, nephew-son, James Daniel
Powell, three grandchildren: Helena and Alexander Binnington and Cash William Howse, as well as an enormous extended family and circle of friends. He will be remembered for his deep laugh, Mississippi drawl, and sardonic humor. 'I'm not crazy, I just do things in unusual ways.' In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Dayton VA
Hospice, Fisher House, the USO, or your local food pantry. For you, Jim, there is always a light on and someone home. A graveside service with full military honors will be held on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at 10:00 am at David's Cemetery in Kettering.
Howse, James
