Dana HOWELL

HOWELL, WANTZ, EDWINSON, PARKS, CLEVELAND, TALBOT, WAGONER, CLARK

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 7/6/2007 at 10:59:34

Dana "Gov" Howell, 91, of Belmond, passed away Tuesday (May 23, 2000) at the Belmond Medical Center. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at United Methodist Church, Belmond, with the Rev. Celestyne DeVance officiating. A private family burial will take place at the Belmond Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the Dugger Ewing Funeral Home, Belmond. There will be no viewing; the body has been cremated. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Wright County.

Dana, the son of James Marsh and Mary Maude (Wantz) Howell, was born May 31, 1908, in Denison. He grew up in Ames and attended Ames schools, graduating with the class of 1926. Dana graduated from Iowa State University in 1935 with a bachelor's degree in dairy science. He was united in marriage to Avis B. Edwinson on Aug. 30, 1930, in Grundy Center. They lived in Ames while Dana completed college. Before moving to Belmond in 1940, he and Avis managed dairies in Wichita, Kan., Omaha, Neb., Fargo, N.D., and Hampton. In Belmond they opened an ice cream and Maid-Rite shop, later known as the Mello Maid. He also owned and operated jukeboxes in the surrounding 10-county area. He and Avis also owned and operated laundromats, car washes and a drive-in south of Belmond. He was a member of United Methodist Church, Odd Fellows and Belmond Chamber of Commerce. He and Avis were named Outstanding Citizens of The Year for 1999 by The Belmond Jaycees.

Survivors include his wife, Avis; three daughters and sons-in-law, Marlys and Gene Parks, Charles City, Janet Cleveland of Forest City and Lora and Russ Talbot, of Ankeny; eight grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Doris Wagoner, of Lee Hall, Va.; and numerous nieces and nephews. Dana was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Manning and Eben; sister, Marcella Clark; son-in-law, David Cleveland; and grandson, Tim Cleveland.

May 25, 2000
Mason City Globe Gazette