Adrienne Karen Howell

Adrienne Karen Howell, age 86, passed away peacefully at her home in Sun City, Arizona on December 27, 2022, surrounded by her children. She would have been 87 years young on January 6^th, 2023.

Adrienne was born in Medford, Wisconsin on January 6^th, 1936, to educators Chester and Gladys Howell. When she was in the fourth grade, her family settled permanently in Sandpoint, Idaho.

She graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1954, and during her years there she was a drum majorette, a local beauty queen, and worked at both the Panida Theater, and Joe Roger’s Soda Fountain.  Her high school friends laughingly described her as the last to get ready to go anywhere and always typically late; they always picked her up last. This trait followed her though her life.

Adrienne loved to travel and experience new people and places. She left Sandpoint to study Spanish at the University of Mexico in Mexico City. She met her future husband Richard there while they were both students. Mexico always had a special place in her heart, and she returned to Mexico many times with her family. She even attended Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding reception to Michael Todd there in 1957.

After attending the University of California at Berkeley, Adrienne held several government career positions with the U.S. Forest Service, Goodyear Aircraft, and the U.S. Army; the latter at Ft. Richardson Alaska before Alaska was a state! While raising her family, she served as her local parish secretary. Career moves took the family to Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, and Washington. The final move to retirement was in 1998 to Sun City, Arizona.

Adrienne is remembered as being somewhat of a tomboy in her youth, and throughout her life was always athletic.  She enjoyed tennis, swimming, bike riding, and bowled on leagues even after having children, achieving the high ranking 300-bowler trophy on more than one occasion. She enjoyed playing Bridge, learned to play Ma-Jong, and sometimes played with a group of friends. She learned to play golf, but even after moving to Sun City determined that this was not a game she enjoyed, so while there she continued biking and walking.

Adrienne was pre-deceased by her parents Chester and Gladys, her husband Richard, and her sister Doreen. She is survived by her children Richard (Orlando, FL), Lisa (Spokane, WA), Craig (Phoenix, AZ), sister Marilyn (Phoenix, AZ), brothers Chet (Patti) (Sandpoint, ID), and Colin (Phoenix, AZ), grandchildren Briony and Zachary (Spokane, WA), as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was loved by her family and will be greatly missed.

Rosary will be held at 10:00 AM on January 12, 2023, followed by the Funeral Mass at 11:00 AM at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Sandpoint, Idaho. Rite of Committal will be held at a future date at Pinecrest Memorial Cemetery as weather permits. Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 601 South Lincoln Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 in the name of the Adrienne Howell Family.