Remembering Ed Howard: A Multi-Generational Life in Scarsdale

Longtime Greenacres resident and member of Scarsdale Golf Club Ed Howard passed away this week. Read this account of his life, reprinted from Legacy.com.

Edwin Brown Howard Jr. (June 24, 1941 - August 2, 2023)

Edwin Brown Howard Jr., a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and active member of the community, passed away peacefully from brain cancer on August 2, 2023 surrounded by his family. He is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Alice Robbins Howard, their children Heather Howard (Princeton, NJ), Hunter Howard (Dallas, TX), and Hilary Heieck (Pacific Grove, CA) and their grandchildren Nathaniel Weston Howard, Landry Robbins Heieck and Beckham Harding Heieck.

Born in “Little” Washington, NC to Edwin Brown Howard Sr. and Martha Weston Jones Howard, he moved to Scarsdale, NY with his parents and sister, Martha Howard Patten, but always held a special place in his heart for his North Carolina heritage and cherished summers spent with family in Belhaven and Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks. The Howards were the last Colonial owners of Ocracoke when Ed’s 7th great grandfather, William Howard, bought it in 1759 for 105 pounds sterling, after a swashbuckling career as Blackbeard’s Quartermaster.

Ed was known for his generosity, good-natured humor, loyalty, and integrity. He had the good fortune to raise his family in the same house in Scarsdale in which he grew up. As a result, for 75 years multiple generations of Howards attended and played sports for Greenacres Elementary and Scarsdale High School. He coordinated Greenacres sports for many years, and his children’s friends remember him as Coach Howard, with a clipboard at practices, a booming voice that could be heard across the field, and game strategy sessions during many carpool rides. Ed's dedication to community extended beyond coaching, as he served as a volunteer firefighter for the Village of Scarsdale and was actively involved at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church as a Deacon, Elder and Usher.

Ed had a deep love for Duke University, where he was a member of the Class of 1963. He maintained a strong affiliation with the university, interviewing prospective students and staying actively engaged with the Alumni Council and the Alumni Athletic Council. An avid Duke basketball fan and longtime season ticket holder, he was a constant presence at games in Cameron Indoor Stadium. He found tremendous joy watching his daughter Hilary captain the Duke Women’s team, which went all the way to the National Championship game in her senior season. And he even tolerated Alice rooting for her alma mater, the UNC Tar Heels. He was also a dedicated member, past president, and honoree of the North Carolina Society of New York.

Golf was another one of Ed's passions, and he formed countless cherished friendships as a lifelong member at Scarsdale Golf Club. A talented athlete and former scratch golfer, Ed won numerous championships and was shooting his age even as he turned 81.

At Scarsdale Golf Club, he served as a Board Member, Golf Chair, and Chairman of the Wilson Cup; he also chaired the Metropolitan Golf Association caddie scholarship program. He found humor, competition, and friendship on the greens and was always quick with a compliment and good-natured joke. Ed was also a member of Pinehurst Country Club and actively involved in the Westchester Senior Golf Association.

Throughout more than 50 years on Wall Street, in true steadfast, professional, and loyal Ed Howard fashion, he never left his first job. His business card changed as the companies were acquired or merged, and along the way Ed developed deep and lasting connections with his colleagues and clients, many of whom became close friends, at Kidder, Peabody, Paine Webber, UBS and across the industry. He was a consummate institutional equity salesman, who truly loved a great stock idea, and always took the time to mentor junior analysts.

Ed also loved traveling (and not just to basketball games).That wanderlust took Alice and him on epic train and boat journeys, safaris, behind the Iron Curtain, and to as many of the “Stans” as he could visit; somehow, no matter where in the world he was, he always found a Diet Coke and the International Herald Tribune. He instilled that love early in his children, and for five consecutive summers the family did “house exchanges” in Europe, exploring England and France like locals. He also loved watching animals – whether it was spotting hawks on rides in the Hudson Valley, feeding the neighborhood fox, or watching hippos at their watering hole.

Edwin Brown Howard Jr. will be remembered for his love of family, his generous nature, unwavering dedication to community, sense of humor, his cherished North Carolina roots, his passion for Duke University and golf, and his admirable integrity in both his personal and professional life. His presence will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

A visitation will be held at Edwin L. Bennett Funeral Homes on Monday, August 7, 4- 7pm, and a memorial service celebrating Ed's life will be held at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale on Tuesday, August 8th at 11am. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to Hitchcock Presbyterian Church or the Greenburgh Nature Center.