Garth Seamons Howells

Our beloved brother, friend, and uncle ,Garth Seamons Howells, passed away suddenly Saturday September 21, 2024 due to complications with a massive stroke and after a courageous ten year battle with leukemia. Garth was born on November 18, 1956 to Del and Carol Howells in Logan, Utah at the LDS hospital. He was Del and Carol’s third child and was adored by his sister, Janet and brother, Rod. Garth's childhood was spent on the family dairy farm on Bridger Blvd in Paradise, Utah and his days were filled with fun, family and work. Garth had fond memories of attending Paradise Elementary School and the Paradise Ward, it was here that many lifelong friendships were formed that Garth would cherish dearly. Soon a younger brother, Mark, joined the family and Garth became both the little and older brother in the family.
Garth attended South Cache Jr. High School in Hyrum and went on to graduate from Sky View High School in Smithfield, gaining more friends everywhere he went. He was proud to be a Bobcat, and could still belt out the school fight song if he was asked to. After graduating, Garth went on to work at Fullmers Mill and Supply in Logan. It was at Fullmers that Garth utilized the skills of hard work that had been instilled in him by his parents on the farm. He was always happy to do whatever needed to be done! Whether it was delivering sheetrock up flights of stairs at a new home, pulling lumber or anything else, his coworkers quickly realized that Garth was willing to do it all.
Garth soon left both Fullmers and the farm life behind him and began the journey of a lifetime with his best friend, Bob Berry as they packed up and headed to the last frontier, the wild unknown of Alaska. Garth had an adventurous spirit and could hardly wait for what laid ahead! He drove his blue 1978 F-250 all the way from Cache Valley up the Canadian coast, finally settling in Anchorage, Alaska. He soon took a Job with Northwest Orient Airlines and did the hard work of loading and unloading luggage on Boeing 747’s in the cold Alaskan air and once again quickly became known amongst his coworkers as the guy willing to do it all. This sparked a love of flying and airplanes that stayed with Garth throughout the rest of his life. He found great joy in sending home model airlines that his Dad proudly displayed for all to see. Garth loved the Alaskan wilderness, he took up cross country skiing and mountain biking and loved to explore his new home. He had a special love for Denali National Park, specifically Mt. Mckinley, and loved nothing more than when he had a chance to show them off to his family and friends.
During his career at Northwest, Garth also spent time working in San Diego where he would trade in his parka for tank tops and biking in the mountains for cruises down the beach! During this time he also shared a special trip with his parents to Nashville, Tennessee and helped his Dad’s dream of seeing the Grand ole Opry come true. While Garth was often far from his family while he explored the world, they were never far from his mind and heart. He made trips home as often as he could and when his older brother, Rod, was diagnosed with Melanoma skin cancer in 1991, It was incredibly hard on Garth. He looked up to Rod and was heartbroken by his passing. He took a leave from the airline to be there for his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews during that difficult time and always felt very lucky to have been able to do that.
In the late 1990’s Garth transferred to Salt Lake City International Airport and soon settled into a condo in Bountiful where he was close enough to spend his weekends in Paradise where he built a beautiful garden up to the farm. He planted many trees that have flourished in both beauty and size bringing shade to many and leaving a legacy on the land that will go on for countless years to come. Everyone was so grateful that Garth was back home when his sister, Janet, passed away in 2000 from breast cancer. Once again, Garth was there to do his part in helping his family through such a tragic time.
Sadly, in 2003 Garth had to take early retirement from Northwest after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. For someone that had spent his life being so active, it was frustrating and heartbreaking to find himself unable to do more than the bare minimum of movement for days at a time. It was during this time that he found companionship and joy by bringing a border collie pup named Belle into his life. Belle gave Garth the love and will that he needed to push through his health challenges and live his life again the best that he could. While his days of cross country skiing were over, he still found joy in being in Paradise with his parents and nieces and nephews.
Garth was a Godsend for his Mom and Dad. In 2013 when Del was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure and Dementia Garth moved in with them and helped take much of the stress of caring for his Dad off of his mom. It was taxing on his health and oftentimes was a thankless job but he did it anyway. He continued to stay in Paradise, even after Del’s passing in 2016 and helped keep his mom at home for several more years. When she did eventually have to go into assisted living, Garth was there nearly everyday keeping her company and making sure she was happy. Losing his mom was very difficult on Garth. He remained in Paradise after her passing in 2021,staying in his childhood home and looked forward to visiting with his family and friends. To those driving by it was a common sight to see Garth sitting on the porch visiting while also being surrounded by the barn cats that he had taken under his wing since his dog Belle’s' passing.
Garth's health has been a great trial for him in recent years but he never let it stop him from laughing. He was preceded in death by both of his parents, Del and Carol Howells, a brother Rod Howells, sister, Janet Ohlwiler, brother in law Alan Kent Ohlwiler  and nephew Mckay Pierce, along with many beloved grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. He is survived by his brother Mark (Lori) Howells of Smithfield, his aunt Ramona Lamb of Orange, California, sister in law, Carol Smith of River Heights, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins all over the country. The family would like to give a special thanks to Garth's dear friends Cathryn and Gerry Peterson of Paradise and Rose Marie and Randy Jorgensen of Millville for their support during some of Garth’s most challenging years. Your visits and love have not gone unnoticed. We would also like to thank his niece Marilee Passey and great-nephew Nathan Passey for their quick actions in getting Garth the help he needed after discovering he had suffered a stroke. Special thanks also to the Paradise EMT’s, Logan Regional Hospital ER staff, and Cache Valley Mortuary for their kindness, and dignity shown to Garth during his final hours.
A Graveside service will be held at the Paradise Cemetery, Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 11 AM. All who knew Garth loved him, please join us in celebrating the life of our remarkable uncle, brother, and friend, until we meet again Garth, we love you. .