Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Remembering Joe Howe
Our faculty, staff, students and alumni fondly remember Joseph Howe, an adjunct construction materials and civil engineering professor of several decades who passed away on November 1st. To submit your remembrance, please email it to sarc-news@virginia.edu
Remembrances are included in the order received.
__
"Six Words: Remembering Joe Howe"
Kirk Martini
The passing of Joe Howe has special meaning for me, because Joe and I shared an office for thirteen years. Since Joe was an adjunct, he didn’t spend much time at the office, so we had less contact than most office mates, but when he was there, he did his best to make up for lost time. Joe loved to talk, and anything we talked about would remind him of a story. That story could be about one of the dozens of big construction projects he worked on, his college days at the Citadel, or his time as a soldier in World War II. Whatever the story, something in it would remind him of another, and the stories would link together, end-to-end, until his or my schedule intervened.
A few years ago, I remember hearing from Patty DeCourcy about Joe’s knee surgery. She reported that Joe had a local anesthetic and talked with the doctor during the entire operation. My first thought was Joe probably would have talked to the doctor even with a general anesthetic. There was no stopping Joe once the stories started to roll.
Of the thousands of words I heard from Joe, there were six that I will never forget. It was during my first year in the office in 1993, my second year teaching in the School. We were talking about teaching, and Joe said “anybody can teach a good student.” He didn’t elaborate much on those six words, but in the decade and a half since, I’ve come to understand exactly what he meant. As teachers, it’s tempting to look at the masterful work of our best students and give ourselves a pat on the back for instilling such skill. The truth is, there are so many talented students at U.Va. that anybody could show them a few slides or ask them to read a few books, and those students would produce skillful work. A teacher taking credit for that work is like a rooster taking credit for the sunrise. The real measure of a teacher is the growth and progress of the struggling students, the students with less preparation, and more distractions. If you’re not helping those students, then you’re not a very good teacher. Simple as that. Anybody can teach a good student. Joe Howe taught them all.
___
Karen Van Lengen:
I came to know Joe when when he often stopped by the dean’s office to say hello after class.
He always had a memorable story about his students and that would begin a wonderful chat on lots of subjects. He delighted in sharing his daschund stories with me, knowing that I too am a devoted fan of this species. We shall all miss Joe’s generous and kind spirit, his devotion to teaching, his lively and genuine character.
___
Patty DeCourcy:
I have been honored to serve as Joe Howe’s office assistant since I came to the school in 1998. We developed a great working relationship and I felt honored to be part of his teaching career as well as part of his family. Mr. Howe always introduced me on the first day of class as part of the teaching team, never just a secretary. During my years with Mr. Howe he took such pleasure in his teaching. There never was a student left behind in any of his classes and he had been teaching since 1977. He made it known to each student that he taught he was available to them whenever they needed help. Mr. Howe taught well known football players like Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans, Heath Miller of the Pittsburg Steelers, and Elton Brown of the Arizona Cardinals just to mention a few. I remember him telling me that he came in on a Sunday afternoon to help students so he could help keep them off academic suspension. His love of teaching showed each day when he came to class. He was always the last to leave the classroom because he would wait to make sure none of his students needed his help. I will always remember Mr. Howe telling his wonderful stories from his past while sipping on a regular Coke through a straw and eating peanut butter crackers in my office while we prepared for the next class meeting.
His two famous quotes that he wrote on the board each semester and pasted at the bottom of the final exams were these: Robert Doyle was a man that Mr. Howe came to know through working construction and Mr. Doyle told this to Mr. Howe one day on the job site to always:
“Give your boss more than he paid for.”
This other quote was from a Colonel he met while in service:
“Be able to say I need help!”
Col. Louis Letellier
I guess you can say that Mr. Howe lived by these two quotes not only in his teaching here at the School of Architecture and the School of Engineering but in life in general. If you knew Mr. Howe like I did you would know that he never met a stranger. He made friends with everyone he came in contact with and he would always have a story to tell them. We sat in the nursing home one day and tried to calculate just how many students’ lives he touched and we figured around 8,000, if not more. God Bless you Mr. Howe. I know you will be greatly missed, but I also know that you are in a place now with no aches and pain and are telling your stories to a whole set of new people we call "our angels." Love you forever.
____
Derry Wade:
I didn’t know Joe Howe well, but I vividly remember the first time I met him, which must have been sometime in 2002. I was sitting in my office, frantically trying to meet an important deadline. Mr. Howe said, "You must be new, here!" and promptly came in and sat down. Though taken aback at first, I soon realized what a charming and interesting man he was. Before long I had completely forgotten all about my deadline as I listened to his amazing stories of the Citadel and construction jobs he had done. He told me about his early years at the University and we marveled over how much had changed. After a very long, and fascinating, conversation - I asked him for his name. He seemed surprised I didn’t know it, which now makes sense to me. As many people have said, he never knew a stranger, which was a wonderful gift he shared with all whom he encountered.
____
Michael Bednar:
Joe Howe and I go back to 1977 when he started teaching at the ARCH School.
He was one of the most generous and dedicated teachers I have ever known.
Last spring I was asked to complete his construction class when he became ill. I asked him why he was still teaching at age 85. His answer was that the students "energized him." He had an indomitable spirit for life. His positive outlook, good humor and wonderful stories will be greatly missed.
_____
For more information, please see:
