Franklin and Wauneta Howell

Honoring the Lives of Franklin Dee Howell and Wauneta Earline Howell

Franklin Dee Howell

October 9, 1936 – January 13, 2025

Wauneta Earline Howell

October 18, 1936 – July 24, 2026

Franklin (Frank) Dee Howell and Wauneta (Nina) Earline Pitchford were married in September 1962 in Los Angeles after growing up in the Midwest. They gradually moved back to the Midwest, moving first to Colorado then to Lincoln, Kansas and Topeka Kansas, before settling in Ames, Iowa, in 1971, where they raised two boys, Steve and Doug. Nina was a housewife and entrepreneur, while Frank was a civil engineer who worked for the Federal Highway Administration. They maintained their home in Ames from 1971 until their departures from this world.

Frank was born in 1936 in Lincoln, Kansas on a small family farm, the third of eight children. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lola and Arthur Howell, brothers who all had nicknames, Robert (Buck), Art (Bud), Daryl (Butch), Doyle (Wayne), sisters, Cheryl and Vaudene, and is survived by his brother, Lyle. After getting a Civil Engineering degree from Kansas State, Frank joined the Army and served a term in Greenland before moving to California, where he met Nina. As a long-time Ames resident, Frank was a long-standing member at the Oaks Golf Course, the Elks, and Toastmasters, and made new friends wherever he went. Frank retired from the Federal Highway Administration in 2001, allowing him to focus on some of his favorite things – coffee, fishing, golfing, and gardening. His tomatoes were second to none! During the summer, he loved going fishing in Canada on father/son trips with Steve, Doug, and his buddies from the Federal Highway Administration. Every Christmas he made his famous ranch pretzels, which his two grandchildren dubbed “crack” pretzels due to how addicting they were. When you asked, “how’s it going,” you could count on his signature reply “Oh, pretty worse.” Frank’s witty remarks and card game playing prowess will be missed by all.

Wauneta (Nina) was born and raised in Lima, Ohio, the eldest daughter of three children. In the 1960s, she struck out on her own, making her way to California where she worked in a bank and met Frank at a bowling alley. While raising Steve and Doug as a stay-at-home mom and part-time artist in Ames, Iowa, she provided a supportive home environment and was always willing to bring her forgetful kids their missing lunch or homework. After the kids left home, she was an avid art hobbyist, particularly skilled at photography, stamping, print-making, and canvas art. During baseball season, you could catch her rooting for her favorite team, the Atlanta Braves. Off-season, she was often watching an old Western, where she could tell you the details of the story by heart. She was a loving grandmother. One of her grandkids’ favorite memories is her coming to sing them to sleep with the song “How Much is that Doggy in the Window.” Although she would play cards with the family, her hidden temper once resulted in the card deck in the fireplace!

Frank and Nina are survived by their son, Steve (Natalie) Howell, grandchildren Courtney (Rob) Howell and Logan (Danielle) Howell and great-grandsons Archer and August, and daughter-in-law Theresa Howell and were preceded in death by their son, Doug. Frank and Nina are interred together at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery, Van Meter, IA, near Doug’s gravesite. At the request of the deceased, there were no services or memorial.