Myra Howe

Myra was born in Susanville, California, to Arthur and Ida Tucker. She attended Riverside-Honey Lake Valley Schools, skipped a year, and graduated early from Lassen Union High School as the first-ranking graduate, delivering the valedictorian address, “Security for the Future.”

She attended the University of California, Berkeley, from 1941 to 1945, earning her teaching credential and beginning her career as a full-time teacher at Ravenswood School District in Palo Alto and then Napa Union High School. She later studied at San Jose State College from 1951 to 1953, earning her Occupational Therapy Certificate.

From 1953 to 1956, Myra served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. She joined hoping to be assigned to another country and experience more of the world, but was instead stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and then Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. She also traveled to a few other states for specialized medical training. She was later assigned to Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco as a staff therapist, where she trained occupational therapy students.

In 1957, she worked for the Easter Seal Society and was a guest speaker for them and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. That same year, Myra gave birth to a daughter, Nancy de Neuf-Hall, whom she placed for adoption in San Francisco after living in Yuba City during her pregnancy. Myra went on to work as a registered occupational therapist and teacher until she retired in 1976 as Supervising Therapist at the Marindale School in San Rafael.

On May 13, 1966, Myra married William Thomas Howe in Reno, Nevada. They made their home in Novato, California, until Bill’s passing in September 1978. Bill’s son, Kenneth Charles, lived with them from the age of 11.

In 1992, when Nancy was 35 years old, she and her husband, Tobey, located and met Myra. Myra threw a large party to introduce them to all of her family and friends. Nancy and Tobey later welcomed a son, Joel, and a daughter, Gloria. Myra was greatly loved by them all, and she treasured them as well.

Myra was a devoted member of the Episcopal Church, where she served on the Altar Guild and in the church’s financial ministry. She also volunteered at the Novato History Museum. She was an artist, though too humble to call herself one, and she generously gave away more than 70 of her paintings to those who requested them. She enjoyed the process of creating and getting lost in the flow of painting.

Around 1996, Myra moved from Novato to Spring Lake Village in Santa Rosa. It was a wonderful choice for her. She made great friends, had good food daily (she didn’t like to cook herself), hiked beautiful trails, painted in the award-winning art studio on campus, and enjoyed going to chapel, where she could participate and serve. She indulged daily in her favorite pastime, reading, especially history books. She was also quite the penpal, as was evident at Christmastime, when a multitude of cards, photos, and letters would arrive, to her delight. Spring Lake Village had everything she loved and would need for the rest of her days.

Myra loved to travel, with trips to Alaska (twice), Canada by train, Thailand for three weeks, and Malta. After reading a book about a Mafia boss in Sicily, she traveled there hoping to spot one, and she thought she may have glimpsed one in an alley beside a restaurant. She also hiked a volcano there. Both that trip and her Thailand adventure took place in her late 80s. She also visited national parks and landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and Devils Postpile, among others.

Myra is survived by her daughter, Nancy de Neuf-Hall (Tobey); her grandchildren, Joel and Gloria; her stepson, Kenneth Howe; her beloved brother, Martin Tucker; her nephews, Mark Tucker (Karen) and Paul Tucker (Justine); her nieces, Diana Tucker (Robert Haycock), Kathy Cartwright, and Henrietta Sherrow; Michael Bitcon, her late niece’s husband; and many other relatives and friends. She was especially fond of her friends JoAnn Allyn and Kay Kohler.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill; her stepdaughter, Karen Howe; her parents, Arthur and Ida Tucker; her sister, Maryanna Kayser; her brother, Arthur “Billy” Tucker; her nephew, Jim Tucker; her niece, Penny Bitcon; and her sisters-in-law, Beverly and Donna.

During her life, she supported many organizations, including Spring Lake Village, Easter Seals, Habitat for Humanity, the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Myra will be remembered for her faith, humility, curiosity, gentleness, and generosity.

At Myra’s request, no services will be held.