Howard W. Katz of West Hartford, beloved husband and dearest friend of Sylvia Sless Katz, passed away suddenly on Saturday, November 3, 2007. The son of the late Samuel and Theresa Goldberg Katz (Odess), he was a graduate of Weaver High School class of 1949. ?Howie? lived most of his childhood on Baltimore Street fully enjoying street baseball and kickball with his many friends. His father Sam was a well-known letter carrier in the North End of Hartford who brought home surprises to his sons in his bag, the best one being the puppy, Bozo who made the pages of the Courant with her litter of five male puppies. Howie was at the terrible Hartford Circus Fire of 1944. Having attended without his parents? knowledge, he was one of the fortunate ones who escaped the toll that day. Howie?s dad passed away in Howie?s Junior year and as he approached graduation, he realized that he would be drafted shortly. Not wanting to go into the army, he and his friends Stuart Gladstone and Alan Schwartz enlisted together in the Navy, or, as he called it, ?Uncle Sam?s Canoe Club?. Upon completion of basic training at Great Lakes, he was sent to radar school and had the good fortune to spend most of his time on the USS Tanner, which took him to many ports of call in the Atlantic and Pacific. He was at the invasion of Inchon, Korea and went ashore with the Marines when his landing vessel was grounded. He was awarded the Purple Heart for this action. After three days he was able to make it back to the ship and continued his tour of duty. One of his most interesting times aboard was the hydrographing survey of the Atlantic missile range from Florida to Thule, Greenland. During this he was made a ?Polar Bear? when the ship crossed the Arctic Circle. Upon his honorable discharge at the end of his four years of service, he took a position of Materials Control Lab Manager of Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, East Hartford, retiring after 30 years of service to the company. Left to mourn their loss of such a wonderful, warm husband, father and grandfather is his wife of 55 years, Sylvia; his daughter: Rebecca Ann Kogen and her husband, Dr. Robert Kogen and their daughter Hannah Elizabeth Davey and son Donald Isaac Davey; daughter: Susan Michelle Good and Harry Oldach and their children Sondra Teresa, William Harrison and Samuel Evan Oldach, and Howard?s first-born grandson: David Patrick Good. He also leaves his only brother Alan Katz of Woodland Hills, CA, and his niece Linda and nephews Harlan, Stewart and James, as well as his very close sister-in-law and her husband: Vivian and Gerald Marks of West Hartford, and their daughters Cheryl, Andrea and Lisa. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at 11:00 AM in the Chapel of the Weinstein Mortuary, 640 Farmington Ave., Hartford with interment following in the Beth Hillel Synagogue Cemetery, East Granby. A Memorial Period will be observed at the home of Vivian and Gerald Marks, 218 Penn Dr., West Hartford through Thursday. Memorial contributions may be made to The Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A., 1811 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. For further information, directions, or to share memories of Howie with his family, please visit online at www.weinsteinmortuary.com.