Mary E. (McLean) Howard

Mary Eulalie (McLean) Howard, age 88, of Newburgh, IN, passed away Monday afternoon, December 20, 2021, at Newburgh Healthcare in Newburgh, IN.

Mary was born April 30, 1933, in Evansville, IN to Anna Bell (Pfingston) and Rufus Mclean. She was born at the home of her grandparents on Weinbach Avenue close to the now Lloyd Expressway.

At that time, the McLean family lived in what is now a ghost town but what at that time was a thriving stomping ground for “riverboat men,” Scuffletown, Kentucky. Scuffletown was located across the Ohio River from the old lock and dam in Newburgh, IN. Mary’s father and mother ran the general store there, and her uncles operated the ferries that took people across the Ohio River between Indiana and Kentucky.

After the 1937 flood destroyed most of Scuffletown, Mary moved with her parents and family across the river to rural Newburgh IN, to an area known as Vanada Station. She attended school in Yankeetown. Unfortunately, her school burned down when she was in high school, and after that, the children from Yankeetown were bused to Boonville. Mary graduated from Boonville High School in 1951.

Mary had already met her husband, Lester Howard, because he was pastor at the Methodist church she attended in Yankeetown. Her parents would invite Lester over for Sunday lunch after church for fried chicken and mashed potatoes. It wasn’t long before they were married June 11, 1951. Mary was 17.

After their marriage and Lester decided to leave the Methodist church for the American Baptist, the couple moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where Lester attended Southern Baptist Seminary. After seminary, they located to Monticello, Indiana, where Mary became the director of the Monticello Day Care Center.

In 1977, after they moved to Evansville, IN, Mary decided to become an artist. She and her sister, the late Betty Kroeger, ran “The Little Wood House” in Newburgh, IN. They made many beautiful creations, including decorative necklaces, nativity sets, wall décor, and decorative bouquets.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Rev. William “Lester” Howard; her sister, Betty Kroeger (Bob); her brother Rufus, Jr. (Mary); and her brother Edward “Eddie” McLean.

She leaves to mourn her loss a son, Wayne L. Howard; daughter, Carolyn Farmer (Kenneth); one granddaughter, Stephanie Orth; her brother, Owen (Robbin); and sisters-in-law, Donna McLean and Esther Benson.

Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Monday, December 27, 2021, at Boone Funeral Home East Chapel – A Family Tradition Funeral Home, 5330 Washington Avenue with Reverend Tom Wenig officiating. Burial will be in  Bates Hill Cemetery, Yankeetown, IN. 

Friends may visit from 11:00 a.m. until time of service, Monday, December 27, 2021, at Boone Funeral Home East Chapel.

The family would like to thank the heroes who work at Newburgh Healthcare and Heart to Heart Hospice. They treated both Mary and Lester with the utmost of care. We will eternally be grateful to all of them and simply cannot thank them enough for their care. Mary was at Newburgh Healthcare her last seven years and Lester in the last few days of his life.

Condolences may be made to the family online at boonefuneralhome.net

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