Fred C. Howard, III was born in 1948 in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Colorado, where both his parents were from. The family moved to Reno in 1964, when the new CEO of Speidel Newspapers, Inc. moved the company's headquarters here. He started at the University of Nevada in 1966 as a Fleischmann scholar, majoring in Mathematics. The next year, he switched to major in German, ultimately choosing a double major in History and German. In 1968, he won the Ginsburg Award for the highest sophomore grade point average. Fred graduated in 1970 with highest distinction. He was named a Fulbright Scholar and won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. The draft board generously let him accept the Fulbright grant for one year in Germany, where he studied at the University of Erlangen, with the understanding that he would be drafted immediately upon return to the United States. However, there was temporarily no draft law when he returned, so he re-entered the university ROTC program in the fall of 1971 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army on 20 July 1972. He served in many obscure but challenging military intelligence positions, primarily in Germany and the eastern United States, where he met his wife, Dennise Kilgore. He retired in 1995 after serving as the senior operations officer of the Army's largest Human Intelligence Group and was awarded the Legion of Merit. Fred and his family, which included two daughters, Elinor and Leanne, moved to Reno in 1996, where Fred pursued his interests of travel, craft beer, reading, and history.
Those who knew and loved Fred will miss his sense of humor, his intelligence and sharp mind, his generous spirit, and his love of travel and history. He was an excellent gift-giver, and his friends and family often benefited by learning from his incredible depth of knowledge, which he was always willing to share.
Fred died peacefully in his sleep on Friday, January 15th, after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Dennise (Kilgore) Howard; his daughter Elinor (Howard) Walquist, her husband Scott, and their sons Elijah and Everett; his daughter Leanne Howard and her husband Derek Gossi; his mother Beverly (Geiger) Howard; his brother Robert Howard and family; his brother Tim Howard; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and beloved friends. Fred was predeceased by his father, F. Clinton Howard, II.
Fred's family are incredibly grateful to the doctors and nurses who provided him care over the past year. A memorial is planned for later in 2021. In lieu of flowers, Fred's family suggests a donation to the Fred C. and Dennise Howard Endowment for European History at the University of Nevada. If you so choose, make checks out to "UNR Foundation," with a memo for "Howard Endowment for European History." Send checks to UNR Foundation, Attn: Gift Processing, Mail Stop 0162, Reno, NV 89557.
Bruce Templeton
Fred C. Howard, III
Fred C. Howard, III was born in 1948 in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Colorado, where both his parents were from. The family moved to Reno in 1964, when the new CEO of Speidel Newspapers, Inc. moved the company's headquarters here. He started at the University of Nevada in 1966 as a Fleischmann scholar, majoring in Mathematics. The next year, he switched to major in German, ultimately choosing a double major in History and German. In 1968, he won the Ginsburg Award for the highest sophomore grade point average. Fred graduated in 1970 with highest distinction. He was named a Fulbright Scholar and won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. The draft board generously let him accept the Fulbright grant for one year in Germany, where he studied at the University of Erlangen, with the understanding that he would be drafted immediately upon return to the United States. However, there was temporarily no draft law when he returned, so he re-entered the university ROTC program in the fall of 1971 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army on 20 July 1972. He served in many obscure but challenging military intelligence positions, primarily in Germany and the eastern United States, where he met his wife, Dennise Kilgore. He retired in 1995 after serving as the senior operations officer of the Army's largest Human Intelligence Group and was awarded the Legion of Merit. Fred and his family, which included two daughters, Elinor and Leanne, moved to Reno in 1996, where Fred pursued his interests of travel, craft beer, reading, and history.
Those who knew and loved Fred will miss his sense of humor, his intelligence and sharp mind, his generous spirit, and his love of travel and history. He was an excellent gift-giver, and his friends and family often benefited by learning from his incredible depth of knowledge, which he was always willing to share.
Fred died peacefully in his sleep on Friday, January 15th, after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Dennise (Kilgore) Howard; his daughter Elinor (Howard) Walquist, her husband Scott, and their sons Elijah and Everett; his daughter Leanne Howard and her husband Derek Gossi; his mother Beverly (Geiger) Howard; his brother Robert Howard and family; his brother Tim Howard; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and beloved friends. Fred was predeceased by his father, F. Clinton Howard, II.
Fred's family are incredibly grateful to the doctors and nurses who provided him care over the past year. A memorial is planned for later in 2021. In lieu of flowers, Fred's family suggests a donation to the Fred C. and Dennise Howard Endowment for European History at the University of Nevada. If you so choose, make checks out to "UNR Foundation," with a memo for "Howard Endowment for European History." Send checks to UNR Foundation, Attn: Gift Processing, Mail Stop 0162, Reno, NV 89557.
- Reno Gazette Journal, 01/22/2021