Howard Winn

HOWARD MAX WINN

1951-2017

We lost our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Howard Max Winn, on June 26, 2017.  Born to Max and Eunice Winn on November 19, 1951 in Logan, Utah, he was destined to be a larger than life personality.  An only child, Howard thrived on the wealth of extended family, close to many of his cousins he considered to be siblings.   With forty-seven first cousins, he truly had the gift of chosen brothers and sisters who he valued dearly.  And extras if he didn’t.  Howard made me say that.

In his youth Howard trained under Stein Erickson and won multiple awards in downhill racing.  He was also a member of both his high school’s swimming and diving teams that won their respective all state titles.

A proud graduate of Utah State University, Howard flourished as a member of Sigma Nu fraternity.  He worked his college summers in Virginia Beach which he loved for the remainder of his life.  With a brand new degree in hand, Howard moved to Denver for his first professional job in the oil and gas industry.  Within a short time he was promoted to controller of the growing firm.  He loved living in a high rise across from the University of Denver where he could attend multiple hockey games every week.  He was that crazy fan who knocked on the glass and told the players how the game was really played.

From Denver, he rapidly stepped ahead in his career, accepting positions that took him to New York, Chicago, and Houston.  As the chief financial officer of BP in Houston, he had only success in his future.  It was there he met and married Bonnie Kay Yedlovsky.  Their running joke was she married him to shorten her last name.  He liked to brag that she was a bestselling romance author and he was her research manager.  She didn’t mind that one bit because he was the love of her life, her eternal beloved.

In 1986 Howard accepted an oil and gas position with the state of Utah so that he could return to the mountains he loved.  His interests were all over the map.  Literally.   He loved being on the Days of 47 parade committee, becoming a skilled gourmet cook, and traveling the country.  He sought out the obscure and made it an incredible destination.  And he rekindled an old passion for acting.  Known by the Screen Actors Guild as Wyn L. Howard, he was an outstanding character actor in films and television. You can spot him in reruns of Touched by an Angel and in several Disney films. Locally, he performed for almost every community theater in the region.  His signature role was Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace.  His last major role was that of Oscar in The Odd Couple opposite his good friend and colleague, Bruce Craven.  It remained his favorite part in a lengthy acting resume.

Howard’s health battles began days after the final performance.  He beat each new and frightening diagnosis, never giving up, determined to be here for his family.  A few years earlier, he finally left oil and gas behind, going to work for the State Treasurer’s department.  His co-workers say his off the wall humor ignited the office.

Although Howard lived in New York, Chicago, Denver and Houston, his heart belonged to Cache Valley.  He knew its every nook and cranny, which house belonged to whom, nearly always accompanied by a story that had everyone howling.  That was one of his many gifts – making others laugh with his often outrageous sense of humor, and his total lack of fear in speaking his mind.

Howard never met a stranger.  It’s unlikely there’s a clerk or server in Bountiful that he didn’t know by name.  His interest in people covered such a wide strata that he could talk to stock boys about the meaning of their ink and coax laughs out of the most taciturn individual.  For many years, he volunteered at St. Olaf’s Casino Night, a fundraiser, dealing 21.  The line to his table was always packed as people waited to hear what he came up with next, laughter drowning out all the surrounding tables. He commanded a room in a way few others could, regaling us with endless tales, his wit surviving to the last day.

A bridge fanatic since he was a teen, Howard recently began playing duplicate bridge.  He retired after thirty years with the state on Halloween day, 2016.  The plan was to play ferocious bridge, get on with being a travel junkie, and do as much Tai Chi as he could fit into a day.  But that was not the hand he was dealt.  After overcoming health battles doctors assuredly predicted he wouldn’t, he hit one too large for even his huge heart.  From Life Flight on January 2nd to 176 days in the hospital, he was fighting the last battle, giving it his all, amazing every doctor, nurse and therapist who treated him.  Plans were in place for him to return home within weeks. But that day, his heart, his incredible huge heart, gave one final sigh and he was gone.  We take comfort in knowing he is in the arms of angels, reunited with his parents whom he lost 25 years ago and missed every single day.

He is survived by his loving wife of almost forty years, Bonnie K. Winn, his beloved son, Brian Thomas Winn who he was so very proud of, his sweet daughter-in-law, Lindsey Karren Winn, and his precious granddaughter, Liberty Jazz Winn, who will never forget Puh.

Services are being handled by Lindquist’s Bountiful Mortuary.  They will be held Saturday, July 1st at the LDS Mueller Park Third Ward Chapel at 825 East 1800 South in Bountiful.  A viewing will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.  The funeral service will begin at 11:00 a.m.  A luncheon will be served at the church following the service.  There will be no graveside ceremony.  His ashes will be scattered at the Continental Shelf in the Atlantic close to his adored Virginia Beach.  Doolittle, his sweet Norwich Terrier, that stayed constantly by his side during his worst stage four cancer battle, and then took his cancer, is so glad he doesn’t have to wait for him any longer.  Now it really is heaven.  Condolences may be shared at www.lindquistmortuary.com