James Howard Oliver, 93 left this earth peacefully and was escorted by angels to be at the right hand of God on Good Friday, April 10, 2020.
Local Celebration of Life services will be held at Settle-Wilder Funeral Home in New Smyrna Beach, Fl. after the corona virus bands are lifted. To respond and get updates, tell a story about Howard or send an old picture you might have and to get the full witness account of God’s angels escorting Howard into Heaven’s gates, please do send messages and prayers to Howardfromflorida@gmail.com and post on the tribute wall at www.settlewilderfuneralhome.com.
Howard will later be taken home to Mississippi for Military Honors service at the North Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Kilmichael. Oliver Funeral Home in Winona will be handling matters once Howard returns home so please sign the guestbook at www.ofhwinona.com.
He was born in Duck Hill in 1926 to James Calvin Oliver and Zona Mae (Minafore/Dunlap) Oliver. Howard grew up in Tribbett, Schlater and later went to Leland Highschool and graduated from Greenwood High School in 1944. He then began college at Mississippi State University but was recruited later in 1944 after one year of college with 7 or 8 others at the age of 17 to join the Naval Air Corp during WWII. Howard became an Aviation Cadet with plans to become a Naval aviation pilot. He finished recruit training with Company 24, Platoon 4, NATTC in Memphis, Jan.’45 as can be seen in this picture. (#s on their hats were always done by Howard’s mother with the list of names on the back).
Howard was then in school and training as part of the Navy V-12 Unit at Washburn Municipal University in Topeka, Ks. and Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio and completed Aviation Cadet Training Program in Norman, Ok. on April 19, 1946. Since WWII had ended, Howard remained a reservist and returned to Mississippi State University on the GI bill. Howard graduated in 1949 with a BA in Agricultural Engineering and became a land surveyor working full time until he was about 80.
Howard’s father was the foreman for Baker Planting Company out of Leland from 1952 until he retired in 1970 and moved back to the family land in Duck Hill. The family remembers many great summers spent visiting their grandparents at the cotton “plantation” there in Bourbon as they got to play in the cotton fields, help gather fresh eggs, work in the garden and snap many a green bean to help with the can goods for the winter. Time spent on day trips to the land in Duck Hill from Bourbon to go fishing also holds many great memories as do the later years when they retired there.
Howard moved to Florida in the 50s after getting married at Yellowstone National Park and had 3 children in and around Orlando, West Palm Beach and Cocoa Beach, Fla. Howard married again in 1970, gladly gaining 2 more children and moved to Deland, Fla. They later moved to nearby Debary in 1980 until 2009 when Howard moved in with his daughter and grandchildren in Deltona, Fla. They moved to New Smyrna Beach, Fl. in 2012 where they lived currently. Howard had attended Deland Baptist Church from the 70’s to the mid 2000’s and was proud to have been his Sunday school’s treasurer and secretary for many years and would always visit the sick and elderly after church taking food and doing errands for them.
Howard loved the Lord and still knelt beside his bed each night to say his prayers. He always had a special place in his heart for animals and was well known for feeding homeless animals and people too. “He was always smiling and to brighten someone’s day, he would give a perfect stranger a box of coffee nips or workers at the drive-thru when getting his favorite fries, burger and chili and to many greeters at Walmart. He always attended my school events and gave me life advice I still use today.” “He would give his last dollar to help any animal in need and we will miss him dearly and his insights into areas of the world I would never have known about.” “Besides always caring for animals, he researched and took tons of vitamins to stay healthy and passed that wisdom on to us.” Most recently Howard loved to sit by the pond and feed the geese that live here year-round and never left the house without asking about taking corn out for the geese on the way to the car.
One of my favorite stories he told was about how he would help hold the “sort of” pet geese for his mom as she would pluck the feathers off to make down pillows about once a year. He first said he got a nickel for each one he held and recently said he got 2 cents for each and he would hold the head and beak so it would not peck his mom as he was only five years old when he did this. He said they took all the feathers off except the flying feathers and we laughed as these Canadian geese we feed here every day would look so funny running around naked. Just last April, we found an old high school and college buddy who also served in WWII that lives in Oxford, Ms. We visited for a few hours as they had not spoken or seen each other in over 70 years, and it was amazing as they looked back over their high school yearbook and reminisced about their service during WWII. Fortunately, even though we planned to see them again soon to hear more stories, those precious moments were preserved on video and will forever be treasured just as Howard’s memory, legacy, and life well-lived will always be cherished.
Howard was predeceased by his parents, Zona Mae and James Calvin Oliver of Duck Hill, his first wife, Virginia M. Oliver of Raleigh, N.C., wife, Martha S. Oliver of Debary, Fla., son, Tom Dalton of Debary, Fla. and sister-in-law, Bonnie Oliver of Hattiesburg.
Howard is survived by his children, Thomas (Katie) C. Oliver of Newmarket, N.H., Linda (Stephen) South of Gerrads Cross, Buckinghamshire, England, Sandra Oliver of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Phyllis (Brian) Mattheson of Deland, Fla. and daughter in law of predeceased son, Tom (Leslie) Dalton of Jacksonville, Fla. Howard is survived by 14 grandchildren, Krista, Adam, Taylor, Nathan, Abbie, Elizabeth, Rachel, Andrew, Sarah, Natasha, Luke, Ashley, Robert and Andrew and 12 great-grandchildren, Kai, Marlee, Maddie, James, MaryBeth, Luke, Hannah, Clara, Nora, Jonah, Emily and Oliver.
Howard is also survived by his younger brother, James C. Oliver, Jr. of Hattiesburg and several newly re-acquainted relatives in Mississippi, one which is Johnny Frazier of Duck Hill and many more that Howard never got to meet but the family looks forward to meeting them in days to come. Howard is also survived by many great friends, some life savers being father and son, Bob and Rob Ayers of New Smyrna Beach, Fla. and the entire family of Keith & Mitzi McGee of Duck Hill as they have helped in so many ways and we cherish their friendships.
All are welcome to send prayers, messages and stories to Howardfromflorida@gmail.com or even request an email picture with pics of the list of names numbered on the back of the Company 24, Platoon 4, Recruit Training NATTC Memphis, Jan. 1945 photo if you or a friend might have known a member in that platoon.
