Obituary of William G. Howe

Schenectady - William Gerow Howe, aged 84, died at Ellis Hospital on December 12, 2008 from natural causes. He was born on February 13, 1924 in Auburn, NY, the son of William Augustus Howe II and Marjorie Gerow Howe. He attended public schools in Rochester, NY, and before and during World War II he attended Yale University, Brown University and Amherst College. During the war he served in the US Army's 424th Infantry Regiment in the European Theater, where he received 3 battle stars, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star. After the war he returned to school, receiving his BA from the University of Rochester in 1947. He then worked at Eastman Kodak in Rochester from 1948 to 1961. While with Kodak, he received his Ph.D in statistics at the University of North Carolina in 1956. His thesis was written as an Oak Ridge Graduate Fellow in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. After leaving Kodak, he was privileged to work for almost 40 years at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) in Niskayuna with some of the finest and brightest people anywhere. His last job assignment from 1982 until 2000 when he retired was as the KAPL Statistician. Some may remember seeing him walking to and from his home in Rosendale Estates to KAPL every day in all weather. While at KAPL he also taught for many years at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) as both an adjunct and visiting professor. He served several years on the United Way Board of Directors and on the General Electric Share Board. He is survived by his wife Irene Williams Howe, whom he met and married in Washington, DC in 1962; by four children, Rebecca Howe Thomas of Niskayuna, William Augustus Howe III of Watervliet, Nancy Gerow Liss of Boston, and John Williams Howe of Seattle; by five grandchildren, Gregory, Jessica, and Irene Thomas, and Aidan and Alexandra Liss, and by his brother F. Lawrence Howe of Rochester. Visiting hours will be from 4-6PM on Thursday, December 18th at the Jones Funeral Home at 1503 Union Street in Schenectady. A funeral mass will be held at 10AM on Friday, December 19th at St. Joseph's Church at 600 State Street in Schenectady, with the burial immediately following at Park View Cemetery on Fehr Avenue, also in Schenectady.