Village mourns Howard passing: president of Board of Education succumbs to heart attack on Saturday, school is monument, west side building will bear his name

Arthur H. Howard, president of the Wilmette board of education and an outstanding civic leader in the community, passed away at his home Saturday, November 8, a victim of heart failure. He had been ill only three days. Services were held at the First Congregational church on Monday, Movember 10, and burial was at Memorial Park.

The schools of the village were closed Monday afternoon and the flag on the Village green was at half staff throughout the day in honor of the distinguished citizen.

Wednesday night of this week the board of education adopted resolutions changing the name of the Ridge school to the "Arthur H. Howard School" in recognition of Mr. Howard's unceasing devotion to the educational interests of the villge and his personal supervision of the construction of the newest public school building.

Resolutions to be embossed and placed in the permanent records of the public schools are now in the course of preparation, it was stated, as are also resolutions drawn up by Company D, disbanded unit of the Illinois Reserve Militia of which Mr. Howard was captain during the days of the war.

Honored by Legion
Early this week the Committee on Resolutions of Wilmette Post No. 46 of the American legion enacted the following resolutions in honor of the departed community leader: [text of resolutions omitted]

Mr. Howard's death came as a distinct shock to the entire village. While it was known to many that the [sic] had been taken ill on Wednesday, no one dreamed of possible fatal consequences. His condition became gradually weakened, until on Saturday he was forced to give up the fight for life.

Native of Bay State
Mr. Howard ws born in Hyde Park, Mass., September 25, 1876. He was educated at the Hyde Park high school and at Harvard college from which he received his A. B. degree in 1898. He married Emeline Martin Newell at Hyde Park, Mass. During the first two years after graduation from college, Mr. Howard was engaged in publishing school books in Boston and New York.

From 1901 until his death he was connected with the American Sheet Steel and United States Steel corporation. He had an understanding of the steel industry in both the manufacturing and sales departments.

Mr. Howard was a member of the Illinois Reserve Militia, Wilmette Chapter 253 of the Royal Arch Masons and Wilmette Lodge 931, A. F. & A. M. He was senior warden of the Wilmette Masonic lodge and would have been master this coming year. He was a director of the First National Bank of Wilmette and a deacon of the First Congregational church.

He is survived by his widow, Emeline Howard, and three children, Joseph, Frances and Edward.

No person is better qualified to speak concerning Mr. Howard's activity in the village, and particularly in connection with public education, than J. R. Harper, superintendent of schools, who has worked with Mr. Howard in solving many of the school problems confronted during the past two or three years.

Unselfish Service
"I know of no other man in the village who was as intensely interested in and gave as much time to the schools as did Mr. Howard," says Mr. Harper. "He visited and inspected the various classrooms of the public schools quite frequently and always worked for the betterment of conditions. During his administration the Ridge school project was carried to a successful conclusion. Mr. Howard was actively interested in all the details of the construction and maintained a personal supervision over the work. Time after time he was seen on the grounds while the building was going on to see that everything was being done according to specifications."

[remainder omitted because of space constraints]