Jerry Alfred Howell October 24, 1950 ~ July 30, 2024

On July 30, 2024 our generous, kind, hard working, humble, brilliant husband, father, brother, and friend, Jerry Alfred Howell passed away doing what he loved - working on a project at his home in Bluff, UT.
Jerry was born on October 24, 1950 in Moab, UT to Robert Henry Howell and Opel Ann Chamberlain Howell. He joined two brothers at home, Rick and Clint.
The family moved to Bluff, UT when Jerry was five. When Jerry was 17 and living with his Mother and Stepfather, they moved to the Bay Area of California.
It was there that he met Carole Lynn Doxsee. They married and moved to Texas where they had three children – Jeri Lynn, Justin, and Tony. 
In 1977 the family moved to Blanding, UT when Jerry had the opportunity to join his brother Clint in starting a drilling company, Quality Drilling.
His marriage to Carole ended shortly after.
In Blanding, Jerry and Anne, who had also recently moved back to the area, reconnected and were married the next year.
They welcomed four more children into the family – Jerry Bryant, Jason, Levi, and Whitney.  Early in their marriage Jerry continued to work in the drilling business and Anne continued to manage Kenny’s Cafe, which they also purchased shortly after their marriage.
When the drilling industry slowed down, Jerry went to work at Hay Hot Oil in Montezuma Creek, UT. He managed that company for several years.
Jerry rounded out his working life with day trading commodities and driving truck, both regionally hauling mail from Blanding to Phoenix, and later hauling crushed rock locally.
When Jerry retired, he and Anne moved to the Howell home in Bluff.
Jerry was very mechanically inclined and could figure out how to fix pretty much anything – from vehicles to household repairs, and anything in between.
Nothing was ever really broken unless he had already tried to fix it and deemed it a lost cause. And even then he probably wouldn’t have thrown it away, instead tucking it into some safe corner in the shed where only he knew exactly where to find it.
The way he saw it, you never know when a thing might come in handy to use for parts to fix some other broken thing, and he proved himself right time and time again.
He enjoyed having projects and
kept himself busy working around his own house and for other people in the community, this became especially true once he and Anne moved to Bluff and he became the town’s unofficial handy man.
Jerry was always willing to and enjoyed being able to help anyone in need with his knowledge and skill.
Jerry had a lifelong love of learning and once something caught his interest he spent many hours learning everything he could about the subject.
He taught himself Algebra and Statistics so he could help the kids, and later Anne, with homework. He taught himself plumbing, electrical, new technology, and a host of other things. He seemed to know something about everything and was a wealth of knowledge for everyone around him.
Jerry believed that his children should learn by example. He believed the best way to gain confidence was to learn by doing and was right by their side every step of the way.
Whether it was hunting, doing repairs around the house, homework, replacing an engine in a vehicle, slow cooking a brisket, or growing a garden, he wanted all of them to have the knowledge and the confidence that they could figure out how to do anything that needed to be done.
His children know they are exceedingly fortunate to have had a father that instilled a strong work ethic in them and they cherish the memories they have of him and the things he taught them over the years.
When Jerry had the time, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, exploring nature, growing a vegetable garden, and visiting with family and friends. He loved to spend time with Anne, his children, and grandchildren.
In his later years, he especially enjoyed the time spent exploring in the side-by-side with family, friends, and his best little buddy, Crangy the dog.
Jerry is preceded in death by his parents, brothers Clint and Rick, and sister-in-law Mary.
He is survived by his his loving wife Anne, children Jeri Lynn Howell-Haracic (Safet Haracic), Justin (Kristina), Tony, Jerry B, Jason (Tiffany), Levi, and Whitney (Brian Corbett), grandchildren Harley, Kess, Derrick, Tanner, Jaxon, Noah, Tanner M., Elise, Jessie, Katie, Cameron, Kaleb, Maridon, Xander, four great grandchildren, brother Stan, sister Margo (Johnny) Adams, sisters-in-law Elaine
and Joy, and many nieces and nephews.