Jerald L. Howard

Mass of Christian Burial celebrating the life of Jerald (Jerry) Lee Howard will be held on Saturday, November 7 at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Abbey Church in Collegeville, MN. Jerry passed away peacefully at Hilltop Health Care Center in Watkins, MN, on September 24, 2026. Burial will take place at St. John’s Abbey Cemetery in Collegeville, MN.
Jerry was born on February 14, 1934, to Charles and Marian (Bucher) Howard. On June 21, 1958, he married Juliana Hagenston in Glendive, MT. Together, they shared more than six decades of marriage, building a life rooted in faith, family, education, and community until Juliana’s passing in February 2025.
A dedicated educator and speech coach for 35 years, Jerry co-founded St. Bernard’s High School in St. Paul, MN, alongside two religious sisters in 1958. Later, as an English teacher at St. John’s Prep School in Collegeville, MN, Jerry mentored generations of students and fostered championship-caliber speakers, instilling in them confidence, kindness, and a zeal for learning.
His resourcefulness matched Jerry’s devotion to providing for his family. Jerry worked summers selling life insurance for Bankers Life to supplement his teaching income. Despite a modest teacher’s salary, he put all five of his children through college by strategically using the tuition remission benefit available through his employment. It was characteristic of Jerry: practical, determined, and always looking for a way to make things work for the people he loved.
Jerry was a proud parent, grandparent, citizen, provider, and financial steward–someone who could light up a room with his disarming warmth and infectious joy. Throughout his life, he enjoyed playing tennis and golf, cross-country skiing, canoe trips, reading, watching sports on television, and finding quiet focus in adult coloring.
Above all, Jerry was a man of quiet courage, resilience, and profound honesty. He faced significant physical adversity, including multiple hip, knee and shoulder surgeries, as well as chronic pain and dizziness, with extraordinary endurance. He celebrated major personal victories, choosing health when he quit smoking in 1982 and embracing a quarter-century of continuous sobriety beginning in 2001. He was grateful for the loving care provided by the staff at Serenity on 7th, Hilltop Healthcare Center, and St. Croix Hospice Services.
Jerry possessed an earnest self-awareness and spoke openly about his own human flaws. Yet those who knew him best recognized the true heart of the man: a good, decent, and deeply trustworthy soul. His honesty, resilience, generosity, humor, and example shaped the lives of those around him. His legacy lives on not simply in what he accomplished, but in the people he loved, taught, encouraged, and provided for.
Jerry is survived by his five children: Stephen (Wendy) of Fort Lauderdale, FL; Robert (Amy) of Bloomington, MN; Thomas (Libia) of Chicago, IL; Annie Heymans (Tim) of St. Joseph, MN; and David (Nikki) of Durham, NC; ten beloved grandchildren: Mariana, Kathryn, Sophia, Mia, Lauren, Rene, Chloe, Helena, Martin, and Matthew; and eight great-grandchildren: Emelina, Ana, Ainhoa, Caroline, Vida, Arantxa, Jacob, and Viviana. He is also fondly remembered by his nieces and nephews, former students, friends, and compassionate caregivers.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Juliana; his parents, Charles and Marian; and his siblings, Ron and Mary Pat.
Memorials to St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota are preferred in lieu of flowers.