Obituary of Robert Howard

Robert Howard died peacefully holding his wife of 59 years Marjorie’s hand early Saturday morning December 3rd, 2022 at the age of 85. Born Robert Howard Horowitz on April 22, 1937, he was the third child of Florence and Simon Horowitz. An army brat, Robert’s childhood was spent on the move including stints in Tennessee, Mississippi, multiple towns in California, Kansas and even spending his sophomore year of high school in Japan. His sharp mind and adoration of his older brother Ken led him to follow in Ken’s footsteps to the University of Berkely, CA at the tender age of 16 where he joined Ken’s fraternity AEPi and claims he majored in Ping-Pong. After college, his father changed the family’s last name from Horowitz to Howard due to antisemitism in the Army. Simon was soon after promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and Robert was left with double Howards. He went on to obtain his MBA from the University of Chicago and later his Ph.D. from Northwestern University Kellogg’s School of Management, juggling a family of three, work and school. Robert worked for the Brunswick Corporation, the Illinois Department of Corrections, and Shutterbug, a small chain of electronic stores. His true passion however, outside of his family, was teaching, serving as a professor at Loyola and Roosevelt University, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and Northwestern. He was voted “teacher of the year” by his students and later in life became a favorite and beloved substitute teacher in the Highland Park K-8 school system. A true family guy who spent weekend playing tennis with his brother Ken and talked weekly with his sister Sharon, Robert was known for his warmth, humor, presence, and intellect. Not one to care about material things, he loved his New York Times, the Chicago Cubs, playing basketball and bridge with friends. He was famous for his Chocolate Chip pancakes and sage advice and will be deeply missed. He is survived by his wife Marjorie, his older sister Sharon, his children Michael, Stephanie, Susan, and Matthew, their partners Inara, Michael, Brandy and Megan, and by his five grandchildren whom he adored, Jenna, Eliya, Sophia, Bella and Penn.