Richard G G Howard
We are sorry to announce that Richard Geoffrey Gordon Howard has passed away. The following obituary is courtesy of his family
Richard Geoffrey Gordon Howard, Ricko to all his family and friends, was born in April 1932, and he survived his elder sister Lib and brother John.
He was educated at Marlborough College, then he went up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge where he read Classics and Law, doing rather well! He matriculated in 1952, reading Classics Part I as an undergraduate; in 1955 he went on to read Law Part II as a postgraduate.
He went on to do his National Service, in an artillery regiment even though his sister and brother were both in the Navy.
Then he got a job as Income Tax Inspector for the Inland Revenue, dealing mostly with large financial companies. During this time he lived first in the Great Smith Street flat after his sister and her family moved away in the early 1950s, then at Marsham Court where he stayed until ill health forced him to move via hospital to a care home in Prinsted (near Emsworth).
After his retirement, he went back to the Classics, reading Plato and the New Testament in Greek.
A very shy man, he was far too clever for us children and we hardly managed to make friends with him in those days. But he was a loving uncle and kept an eye on us. He introduced us to the works of J R R Tolkien, and the almost-forgotten novels by Violet Needham, among others.
He remained culturally active all his life.
He read in the London Library and Westminster Abbey Library, and was a member of the Thorney Island Society. When visiting us for Christmas, he was always first with the answers in the Christmas Quiz!
He was a keen and knowledgeable concert-goer, supporting the London Orpheus Choir which was well-attended if not founded by his Auntie `Dorf’. Latterly he would come along to concerts of the Belsize Baroque, to support his niece and her partner who play in this orchestra.
His other interests included gourmet food: he must have sampled all the Japanese restaurants in his part of London. We would take him a nice bottle of port, a piece of Stilton, and special chutney or mustard. At Prinsted, he would share the treats with other residents. For a while he joined the Poetry Circle in the home. He could still recite numerous poems, some in Latin, from memory.
He remained alert and mentally active to the end, with only occasional lapses: it was sad that it was the most faithful niece, who visited several times a week, whom he sometimes refused to recognize.
His last day was a happy one, as he knew that some of his family were coming to Oxford for a day punting on the river. He also had a visit from a local priest, which cheered him.
He died peacefully in his sleep early in the morning of Sunday June 28th, 2026.