John Michael “Mike” Howard, age 59, passed away on Monday, August 23, 2021 at Rhea Medical Center in Dayton. He was born on December 31, 1961 in Rhea County, the son of the late John Baxter Howard and Larue (McKinney) Howard.
Mike lived in Sale Creek all of his life. He was a Sale Creek high school graduate Class of 1980 and graduated from Chattanooga State University. Mike was a master electrician, with Filter Specialists in Soddy Daisy for 25 years, then with La-Z-Boy for the past three years. He was a member of the Cattleman’s Association, enjoyed cattle farming, camping and traveling. Mike was a member of the Garrison Baptist Church in Dayton, went on numerous mission trips and was part of the praise team.
He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Jan (Hulgan) Howard of Sale Creek; three children, Aaron Howard of Sale Creek, April “Nikki” (Ronnie) Clark of Spring City, and Megan (Jason) Reed of Evensville Mountain; five grandchildren, Kaleb Clark, Kyle Clark, Kendall Clark, Zander Howard and Rylee Reed; brother, Fred (Debbie) Howard of Sale Creek; and four sisters, Elaine (Dr. Barry) Purser of Sale Creek, Mary (Dennis) Stayton of South Bend, IN, Hazel (Gary) Bovard of Atlanta, GA and Lynnette (Greg) Sluder of Sale Creek.
Funeral services for Mike will be held Saturday morning, August 28, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home chapel with Dr. Mike Breeden and Dr. Barry Purser officiating. He will be laid to rest in the Howard Family Cemetery in Sale Creek.
Please share your memories and photos of Mike on his online guest register at
www.vanderwallfh.com
.
The family is being cared for by Vanderwall Funeral Home in Dayton where they will receive friends Friday evening, August 27, 2021 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to Garrison Baptist Church Mission Fund.