Howard Ruse lived a full, beautiful, and amazing life. He was born on July 24, 1956. A true “American Renaissance” man, Howard seemed to know something about everything, and this was reflected in the various jobs and positions he held throughout his life along with many hobbies. Howard was an inquisitive soul with an engineering mindset, and his lifetime hobbies reflected his passions. His mechanical ingenuity seemed to have no bounds, seemingly capable of fixing anything that was broken in his path, whether it was a faulty refrigerator or a heart that needed mending. He loved fixing things, reverse engineering how they worked only to put them back together again. He marveled at how planes, guns, car, computers, watches, and pretty much anything with a gear worked. He used his vast knowledge to help countless people throughout his life. Because that is who Howard was at his core—someone who loved others and who simply wanted to make their lives easier, often at his own expense.

Howard loved watching videos online to learn how things worked, washed his car frequently to ensure it was the cleanest car in town, loved the “Mission Impossible” movies (just in case he needed some pointers on how to save the world someday), celebrated his birthday with a healthy slice of his favorite Black Forest cake, attempted to fly RC planes and drones while praying he wouldn’t crash them (with mixed results), and adored his pets Sunny and Jasper. Howard loved all of these things, but most of all, he loved sharing experiences with his wife Felecia and making family and friends smile and laugh. His love for his daughter Heather was boundless and his pride was unending. His heart grew exponentially when his granddaughter Gabby was born, a perfect replica of his daughter.

He was never shy to share his passions and hobbies with you. His favorite places in the world were Hawaii and Alaska, and he was his happiest when he could stand next to his loving wife Felecia and share a beautiful Maui sunset, feeling the soft Kannapali Beach sand between his toes. He loved aviation, getting his general pilot’s license at age 35 so that he could take his then young daughter Heather on bumpy flights to make her laugh and smile. He loved to watch Christmas Vacation with his family every Christmas Eve without fail and recited verbatim each line from the movie with his best Clark Griswold or Cousin Eddie impression. He loved having fake snowball fights with his adorable granddaughter Gabby, dramatically falling to the ground or gesticulating wildly to make her laugh, as he deftly hid the pain from his underlying cancer from her and others. Gabby was the light of his later years and provided him extreme joy and happiness, and she sure loved her “Mackaw.” He loved having conversations and getting to know others, regardless of their backgrounds or life experiences, and within minutes of talking with him you would feel as if you were catching up with an old lifelong friend. He knew when to take life seriously and to stand up for what was right, but he also knew how to keep perspective and not sweat the small stuff. He was quite the prankster!

Above all, Howard had a strong heart that beat loudly until his last breath. He protected those he loved, and would do anything to make them feel safe, happy, and loved. He was selfless, hard-working, gregarious, loyal, skilled, brave, and respectful of others, and those qualities have been imprinted on those who were fortunate to know him.

He is survived by his loving mother Ruby, his loving wife of 43 years Felecia, his daughter Heather and son-in-law Gerardo, his precious granddaughter Gabby, and countless other family members and close friends.

In lieu of a funeral service or flowers, Howard would have wanted you to do something to put a smile on your or someone’s face or to make the world a better place to live. Consider helping someone in need, calling a family or friend and telling them how much you love them, flashing your best impression of his signature Cheshire grin to brighten someone’s day, or starting and nurturing that passion project you’ve been putting off and living your life to the fullest.