By Doug Spencer
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  • Visitation

    Friday, August 9, 2024
    10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
    Ingram Meridith Funeral Home - West Salem, IL.

  • Service

    Friday, August 9, 2024
    12:00 p.m.
    Ingram Meridith Funeral Home - West Salem, IL

    Burial will follow in the Moravian Cemetery - West Salem, IL

  • Full Obituary

    Eddie (Ed) D. Howard, 70, of West Salem, Illinois, passed away on August 2, 2024 at Oakview Nursing Home in Mt. Carmel, Illinois following his battle with cancer. Born in Olney, Illinois on October 18, 1953, Ed was the middle child and only son of Donald K. Howard and Winifred A. (Walden) Howard.

    Eddie was a man of many talents. After high school, he first worked for Lear’s Auto Dealership and then with Southern Illinois Lumber Company, both in West Salem, Illinois. After its closure, he worked for several years at the Walmart Distribution Center near Olney, Illinois and later worked as an electrician for John Knackmus. However, his love for farming led him to helping Darrell Lynch for a few years before he retired. He then spent his time helping other with their carpentry and electrical work. This spring, he started working for FS in Olney, Illinois until his health forced him to stop.

    A true outdoorsman, Ed’s love of hunting, mushroom gathering, and fishing brought him much joy. His “great room” has about 20 mounted deer and elk heads that he had shot. His love for the St. Louis Cardinals is also evident in that room! Ed enjoyed his trip out west hunting elk; yet he enjoyed his hunting and fishing trips to Canada, too. Many “fish fries” were held at his home for his friends and family.

    Busy all the time, Ed felt that God needed him to help others. Be it elderly people or his church, he was willing to help others with his talented skills.

    Ed is survived by his two sisters, Donna (Jim) Livingston and Linda (Neil) Tinckham; his former wife Judy and stepson Bill; his nephew Michael Livingston; his nieces, Brandie Billingsley and Erica (Curtis) Kelsey; his uncle, Bill (Ruby) Walden; his best friend, Steve Beckert; his special cousin Wayne (Mary Lou) Walden; and several other cousins.

    He was preceded in death by his parents, aunts, uncles, and several cousins.

    A time of visitation will be held on Friday, August 9, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Ingram Meridith Funeral Home in West Salem, IL. A Celebration of Life service will follow at 12:00 noon. Burial will follow in the Moravian Cemetery in West Salem, IL.

    Please dress casually, as Ed would have wanted that!

    Memorial contributions in the name of Eddie Howard can be made to the Moravian Cemetery in West Salem, Illinois.

    Ingram Meridith Funeral Home West Salem, IL.

Condolences are reviewed and published within 24 hours.

5 Condolences
 
  1. Steve Beckert / August 6, 2024 at 1:45 pm

    Ed was a great friend and a patient teacher. It seems he had a plan for any situation. He always believed in the premonitions he had and they were mostly true. He always told me that the best teacher was old man experience, he wasn’t wrong . He will be sadly missed, not only by me and my wife, but by anyone who came to know him. I will always remember him.

  2. Curtis Ingram / August 6, 2024 at 7:07 pm

    Sorry to hear of Ed’s passing. You have our sympathy.
    Curtis and Dolores Ingram

  3. Teresa Saxe / August 9, 2024 at 10:27 am

    Sorry for your loss.

  4. Bill and Nancy Greathouse / August 9, 2024 at 3:41 pm

    Sorry for your loss.

  5. Bob Schumacher / November 5, 2024 at 5:47 pm

    Eddie was a. great help and comfort to my elderly in-laws. His many acts of kindness were appreciated.. He was always willing to help.

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