alleymon Howard was born in Hollywood, California on January 20th, 1935 – as he put it, “forever shattering the peace and quiet that had once ruled the household of Cy and Dorothy Allen”. Although he needed two tries at kindergarten, by high school, he was convinced that being a teacher was the way to go.
After graduating from Cal State Long Beach in 1957, Howard enlisted in the Army and served until the summer of 1959. He was deployed to Korea, where he worked as a radio intercept specialist. In later years, Howard would regale friends and family with the two Korean phrases he remembered – “Hello!” and “Terrible weather we’re having!”.
Returning from Korea, Howard earned his masters degree in English, again from Long Beach. He proudly completed his first three days of teaching at Newport Harbor High School, at which point the Army recalled him as a reservist. This time he served at Frot Devens in Massachusetts, where he gleaned the material that would serve as bedtime stories for his children in yhears to come. We (and he) fondly recalled the night he spent in the same Concord jail cell that had housed Henry David Thoreau. (Howard’s particular brand of civil disobedience involved sassing a policeman after his Porsche zipped through town at 40 mph over the speed limit.)
By 1961, Howard was teaching again, in a career that was to stretch 42 years, guiding students at Newport Harbor, Avalon, McFadden, Sierra Intermediate, and Cesar Chavez. He loved to teach, and could always find the time to help a student or fellow teacher. He also penned poetry, completed several novels (as yet unpublished, but keep an eye out), and read everything in sight. Ever a familiar sight in Woodbridge, Howard could be found zooming along in his little red Porsche or paddling cheerily in his little yellow kayak.
Throughout their long and happy marriage, Howard was devoted to his beloved wife Carol. He was the proud and loving father of four children – Keith, Aric, Kevin, and Wendy. He was delighted to share stories with five grandchildren – Branden, David, Elizabeth, Bailey and Hannah.
