Theresa Rebecca “Becky” Howard, 74, passed away Tuesday, August 2, 2022, in Owensboro at the home of her daughter, surrounded by family. She loved to joke that when she died, depending on the name on the obituary, only half of the people who knew her would realize it was her, because although she went by Becky, many knew her as Theresa.
Many will remember Becky smiling bright with the love of her life, David Howard, who passed in 2013. Others will remember her as a very young woman, deeply devoted to God and entering the convent at Mount St. Joseph as Sister Malia. Some will remember her sharing her talent by singing all the time, and singing for crowds at the Trail-a-Way back in the day. Some will remember her spreading beauty with her gardening in her younger years, and her paintings in later times. Some by the true and simple stories she loved to write about growing up with her family on a farm in Knottsville. Everyone will remember her heart that was too big for this world, positivity in the face of overwhelming circumstances, her courageous attitude towards life, her contagious laugh, her deep and beautiful faith in God that she lived daily and by her generous, beautiful soul that she shared with everyone she met.
We rejoice through our sorrow because we know that Becky is no longer in pain. Forever and always, she is surrounded with God, love, peace, and loved ones who’ve gone before her, including her husband, David Melvin Howard; her baby, Amy Christine Howard who never got to experience her mom’s loving embrace; her mom, Mary Delphine (Wathen) Payne; her dad, Joseph Arthur “Ott” Payne, her grandparents; brothers, Marvin, Gene and Bob Payne; aunts, Elizabeth Carrico, Gertrude Hamilton and Francis Marie “Fannie” Payne; and uncles, Jim, Gerald, Russell and Floyd Wathen.
The family Becky made with the man she loved hold tightly and protectively to their memories with her. Her son, Adam, will cherish how it felt when he was a little boy, and she tucked him in with a kiss on the forehead, night time prayers, and a long-running joke about the bedbugs, which they named Eeny, Meeny, Miney, and Moe. Her daughter, Jen, will reminisce about spending Tuesday nights with her mom and having ‘girls night’, including long talks and staying up too late just to have more time together.
Her spirit lives on in the people she touched during her earthly life. Especially her daughter, Jenny (Howard) Hicks; son-in-law, Eric Hicks; son, Adam Howard; grandchildren, Joseph and Malia Hicks, Abigayle Lockwood and James Howard Curry; brothers, James Mark (the late Frieda), Frank (Carolyn) and Paul Wayne Payne (Sloane); sisters, Wanda Ann Young (the late Cliff), Mary Brandle (the late Carl), Jody McManaway (Byron), Judy Mingus (Bill), and Lesia K. Stallings; in-laws, Ann Payne and Charlotte Payne; nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
A Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 6, 2022 at St. William Catholic Church, Knottsville. Becky requested that people wear pretty Easter colors in celebration of her life. Burial will follow in St. William Catholic Church Cemetery. Visitation is from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday at the church. Cecil Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.