Howard Ray Long

December 20, 1919 - February 01, 2020

How does one quantify a life that was a hundred years long? To tell everything about a man who lived such a lifetime is mind boggling. It is impossible to do justice to the life of a man who was so kind, caring, and hard working that he touched the lives of everyone he encountered in his hundred long years of life. Howard Ray Long, a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend, left this earthly life Saturday, February 1, 2020 in Topeka, Kansas. Howard was born on December 20, 1919 to Henry and Ida Long. He was raised in Dover, Kansas, along with two sisters, Hazel and Ruby and three brothers, Paul, Lyle, and Elmer, all of whom have preceded him in death. He was an upholsterer by trade and worked for many years in the Santa Fe Railroad shops upholstering train cars. He also, for a time, co-owned and ran his own upholstery shop with his brother.

Howard had an amazing gift of taking old worn out furniture and making it new again. He could fix up old furniture, paint houses, lay down carpet, etc. Howard used these  handyman talents to pack and repair parachutes when he served as a parachute rigger during World War II. During his free time, Howard loved to hunt and fish. He had a passion for collecting rocks and gem stones, along with an interesting collection of barbed wire, each piece of which he could tell the history of the farms and lands it had been found on. Howard lived an amazingly long life and brought joy to the lives of all around him. He often greeted people with a warm smile and hug and noticeably lived out his Christian faith. Howard was a long time member of Oakland United Methodist Church. He gave many hours of time serving his church and community and was an avid member Odd Fellows Lodge. Howard's most precious accomplishment was the love he had for his family. He married Joy Rogers in 1941, and they had three sons, James, Melvin, and  Mark. He is preceded in death by his son, Melvin, who was killed in Vietnam in 1968 and by his wife, Joy who lost her long battle with cancer in 2000. He married his second wife, Maureen Groves in 2002. With this marriage, he became the stepfather to her son, Steven Groves, who passed away in 2018 from liver failure. Howard is survived by many family members whom he loved and cared for deeply, including wife, Maureen; sons, Mark and Jim; daughter-in-law, Charlotte Long; grandchildren, Jason and Mardi Long; grandson-in- law, Mohinder Pal; and his three great-grandchildren, Brenda, Vincent, and Jeffrey Alvarez. Howard Long was so loved and will be missed dearly by his family and friends, but his legacy will live on through his loved ones and the beautiful memories he shared with everyone whose lives he touched during his one-hundred long and happy years of life.