Patrick L. Howard, 86, of Woonsocket, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, at the Prairie View Healthcare Center.  

Mass of Christian Burial was held Monday, Jan. 31, at St. Wilfrid Catholic Church in Woonsocket. Burial was in the church cemetery. Visitation was Sunday, Jan. 30, with a scripture service and rosary at the church.

Patrick Louis Howard was born on Feb. 16, 1935, to Francis and Edith (Smith) Howard southwest of Woonsocket. Patrick was the second oldest of 14 children. He attended rural school in the early years before his family moved to a farm east of Woonsocket. Pat continued his grade school education at the St. Joseph Catholic School and graduated high school from Woonsocket Public High School. He started his lifetime passion of farming south of Woonsocket in Twin Lakes Township.

Pat married Marlene (Higgins) Howard on Nov. 11, 1961, raising six children during sixty years of marriage.

Patrick was active in the St. Wilfrid Catholic Church, a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Fourth Degree Knight and a 4-H leader. He had a real fondness for farm auction sales.  He loved the social atmosphere and, over his lifetime, brought home loads of possibilities. He enjoyed a good William Penn cigar, along with a variety of barley hops. He believed his greatest pleasure was seeing his kids’ expression when he would say, “Let’s go pick a load of rocks.” He farmed to make a living and lived to farm, even in his retirement years. He enjoyed monitoring his neighbors’ activities from his mobile units. Overtime, he collected a monument of friends and good neighbors that cultivated his existence.

Pat is survived by his wife Marlene (Higgins) Howard; his children, Julie (Robert) Thomson, James (Lori) Howard, Jeffrey (Carrie) Howard, and Jason (Torria) Howard; four grandchildren; six step-grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and siblings, Janice Lepore, Theresa Smeltzer, Frank, Doug, Mike, and Wayne Howard, Lynda Steichen and Brad Howard.

He was preceded in death by his two sons, Rodney Francis and Joseph Louis; one grandson, John Michael Thomson; parents, Francis and Edith Howard; in-laws, Leo and Gladys Higgins; sisters, Irene, Retta, and Carol; and brothers, Jeffrey and Jerome Howard.