Barbara Sue (Hagan) Howard, 87, of Whitesville died on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, in Owensboro surrounded by many of her family members. Sue was born in Owensboro on November 17, 1938, to O.J. “Jack” and Catherine (Duvall) Hagan. She was a lifetime member of St. Mary of the Woods Catholic Church in Whitesville.
Sue was affectionately referred to as “Bill” by her dad and she was proud of that. She was a gifted storyteller speaking of life’s adventures, or anything that struck her fancy to share with her grandchildren. Before she would begin a story, she would tell you, “This is a story that might be true or it might not.” She also loved to create art by mostly painting, either on a canvas or on woodwork that her Dan cut out, while poetry was also one of her passions.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Debra Mills; son-in-law, Marty Mills; granddaughter, Kate Hayden; and grandson, Benedict Howard. She was also preceded in death by siblings: Betty Barrett, Doris “Sissy” Knott, Joy Martin and Charles A. “Tony” Hagan, as well as three brothers-in-law: Tom Barrett, Virgil Head and Frank Howard.
She is survived by her husband of 67 years Daniel E. Howard, Sr.; children, Daniel Jr. (Anne), Jeffrey (Theresa), Greg (Lisa), Cyndi (Barry) Isbill and Sheila (Glenn) Calhoun; 28 grandchildren (Joe, Jennifer, Jeremy, Joshua, Ben, Ashley, Brian, Samuel, Kateri, Mirianna, Rebecca, Thaddeus, Coeli, Cyprian, Adeleen, Melissa, Tammy, Sarah, Emily, Elizabeth, Christopher, Shana, Isaac, Adam, Connor, Grace, Ashley and Wes); 66 great grandchildren and nine great great grandchildren; sisters, Jackie Head, Nancy Howard and Kay (Shelby) Howard; sister-in-law, Deborah Bolt Hagan; and brothers-in-law, Al Knott and Norman Martin.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in memory of Sue to the Passionist Nuns of St. Joseph Monastery or to the Trinity/St. Mary Capital Campaign.
A funeral mass will be said on Monday, March 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., at St. Mary of the Woods Catholic Church in Whitesville, KY. A private burial will be held at a later date at St. Mary of the Woods Cemetery. Visitation will be on Sunday, March 29, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., with prayers at 5:30 p.m., at Cecil Funeral Home in Whitesville, KY.