Helen King Howell passed away surrounded by her family in the Philadelphia area on November 9, 2022.

Helen was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on May 12, 1944, a daughter of the late Samuel and Mary King. Helen attended Allegheny College and Kansas University, graduating in 1972 with a degree in Elementary Education. Focusing first on her family, she helped her husband obtain his DMD degree and moved with him out west to work with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Helen and her husband Gary moved back to Erie, and she worked for twenty years as an elementary school teacher in the Erie School District. She was dedicated to her faith and community volunteering in her church's preschool and serving as a girl scout and boy scout leader.

After retirement, Helen and Gary moved from Erie to the Exton, Pennsylvania area to be nearer to their family, but they always held dear the city and people of Erie, it having been a great place to raise their children. Accordingly, Helen and Gary established the Howell Family Scholarship Fund to be administered by the Erie Community Foundation. This fund will fully activate upon the passing of Gary and will provide scholarships to help further the education of graduates from the Erie School District, the Millcreek School District, and Cathedral Preparatory School.

Helen was a bright and cheery person to the end and will be fondly remembered for her warmth and humor. She left this to be said as her final words: "Almighty God blessed me with the passions of youth, a good husband with whom to share the past 58 years, the joy of holding my children and grandchildren in my arms, and the bonus of travel to remote, unique, and historical places. I've had a good run with no regrets!"

Preceding Helen in death was her brother William King.

She was reunited with her husband Dr. Gary Howell on November 16, 2025.

Left to cherish her memory are her daughter Catherine; two sons Matthew and his wife Rachel and Marcus and his wife Justine; four grandchildren Elizabeta, Eamon, Jocelyn, and Rhys; sister Nancy McLaughlin and her husband David and several nieces, nephews, and their children.

An interment service for Dr. Gary and his wife Helen will be held at Riverview Cemetery on June 6, 2026, at 11 a.m. with Evangelist Rico Brown officiating. Tri State Veterans Group will provide military honors for Dr. Howell.

Services were entrusted to the Dawson Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation instead to the Gary and Helen Howell Scholarship Fund via the Erie Community Foundation.