Jane Dee Howard

Jane Dee Wells Howard

It is with great sadness that the family of Jane Wells Howard announces her passing on March 3, 2025. We are glad to know she is having a music-filled celebration in heaven with her family & friends that have gone before.

Jane was born on June 23, 1933 in Lawrence, Kansas to Irl & Esther Wells. Music has always been a huge part of Jane’s life. She began picking out music on a piano by the time she was 5. When she was in 2nd grade, her parents got a new Baldwin piano for her to play. Jane played the piano while Irl played the harmonica. Jane’s mom sang & played the piano. Jane took violin lessons for a short time while in grade school in La Marque. In 7th grade, she scored unusually high on a music aptitude test and began clarinet lessons (on a metal clarinet). Her Uncle Guy, who could play many instruments, continued to inspire her musical talents while the Wells were on a family visit to Missouri in the mid-1940s. She was in band at Sweeny through H.S. She also took saxophone lessons from Harold Spencer. She sang in a H.S. girl’s group under Mrs. Ogle. Jane sang in the choir at UCC and took voice lessons from Frank Ing.

Jane’s mother encouraged her to sing solos in church while Esther played the piano. Jane told stories from the Bible in front of the church when she was in 1st & 2nd grade, when her family were members at the First Methodist church in Sweeny. She attended FBC Old Ocean from the age of 13. Jane traveled on the train some summers with her Aunt Claudia & mother to visit grandparents in Arkansas.

Jane lived in several towns on the Texas gulf coast while growing up. Jane’s first real memory was seeing her 1-yr old brother Gary get run over in Galveston (he was ok, just bruised). The Wells family first moved to Galveston, TX on a train when she was 4 years old, where her dad answered an ad for a florist job with Sonseries, Irl later worked for Ed Bradshaw’s in Galveston. Later they moved to Harrisburg (Houston), then South Houston where her dad worked for Arai’s in Houston. They moved to LaMarque when her dad became a chemist for Pan American Petroleum Co.

From LaMarque the Wells moved to Old Ocean where Irl worked for Phillips as a Chemist. They lived in Sweeny while Jane was in 7th grade through 12th. Irl built a house on highway 35 and started a florist business in his garage in 1946. One summer Jane and brother Gary built the big greenhouse behind the house. Jane climbed up the ladder with glass while Gary was on top putting the glass in. The florist/nursery business became so big he decided to quit his job at Phillips. Irl was on the Sweeny School Board many years, also on the Hospital Board that built the hospital in Sweeny.

Jane was on the Sweeny HS basketball team at State Championships in 1950, they finished 2nd.

In the fall of 1950, she attended University of Corpus Christi where HS friend Grayson Glass was attending. Grayson introduced her to his roommate, James Howard. Jim & Jane dated and were married in April 1952 in a garden wedding in the Wells’ front yard. Jane played piano and/or organ at the churches where Jim pastored which were mostly in South Texas. Jim was pastor at Berclair, TX in 1952-53. They welcomed their first child Shirley in 1953 while still in Corpus Christi. Michael was born in 1954 in Oakland, CA where Jim was attending Golden Gate Seminary.

The Howards returned to Texas after Jane’s parent’s horrific car accident in September 1955. Jim graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1958. Jim began pastoring at FBC Pawnee in 1959, then pastored at Grace Temple Baptist Church in Corpus in 1960. Their son Mark was born there in 1962. Jim became pastor at FBC Premont in 1965 while Jane played piano. Jim was pastor and Jane played piano and organ at FBC Brazoria starting in 1971. They moved to La Grange in 1982 where Jim was pastor at FBC and Jane played the organ. In 1988 they moved back to the Sweeny area and began to remodel her parents’ house. They converted the garage/ (original Well’s flower shop) into Jane’s arts/crafts/sewing room where she created many beautifully embroidered vests, towels, runners, quilted sweatshirts, and necklaces. Jane continued playing piano at many churches on the Gulf Coast where Jim was interim pastor. She also played piano regularly at Grace Temple Baptist Church.

Jane received a BS in Education with a minor in English in 1953 from the University of Corpus Christi. In 1971 she received her MS in Education, minor in Music from Texas A&I in Kingsville. Then starting later in 1971 she did post-graduate work at Sam Houston State U. and A&M U.

Jane taught school in every place they lived. She taught in Napa, CA, White Settlement, TX, Corpus Christi, Premont, Brazoria and La Grange and then Brazoria again. She taught every age from kindergarten to 8th grade (where she taught son Mike), but her favorite age to teach was 2nd grade. In 1994 she retired from teaching. However, in 1996-97, Jane & Jim taught in the IMB Seminary in Lusaka, Zambia where son Mike & his wife Lindy were missionaries for 25 years.Jane loved the Bible and lead YWAs, WMU, Sunday School and Bible study classes. Her hobbies included sewing, reading, crafts, art, cooking, gardening, flowers, plants. She also loved travel and has been to much of the US, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, England, Holland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Panama and many places in-between. She loved Mexican food & Popcorn Shrimp. One of her biggest loves was musicals. She loved The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, The King & I, My Fair Lady, South Pacific and On A Clear Day among many others. Jane was preceded in death by her parents Irl & Esther Wells, her daughter Shirley and her son Michael. She is survived by Jim (her husband of almost 73 years), daughter-in-love Lindy, her son Mark, brother Gary (Beverly), grandson Jesse (Renee’), granddaughter Tabitha (Keith), 6 great-grandchildren, and many nieces & nephews.

A graveside service will be held at 1030 AM on Saturday March 15, 2025, at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in West Columbia, TX.

In lieu of flowers please consider donations to Operation Christmas Child at Grace Baptist Church, Brazoria, TX.

Condolences may be left for the family at www.ctbakerfuneral.com