Dr. Gerald L. Howe

The Dr. Gerald L. Howe Scholarship was established as an incentive for students committed to pursuing an education in the medical field.

“It is likely that I would not have attended college had I not received a scholarship,” Dr. Howe noted. “The Monroe community has been good to me and I felt this was a good way to give back to it. I treated many teenagers who were headed to Monroe County Community College.”

Gerald was born May 29, 1936, to the late Lisle and Marjorie (Albright) Howe in Decatur, MI. He had one sister, Donna. After graduating high school, Gerald committed his time to many years of college. He completed his undergrad work at Western Michigan University. Gerald then went on to complete his master’s degree at Northwestern University. After obtaining his doctor in dental surgery from the University of Michigan, Gerald worked as a dentist from 1960 to 1967. Gerald was also a proud veteran whom served as a U.S. Army Captain from April 1960 to August 1964. While in the Army, his interest in dentistry expanded to include orthodontics. He married the love of his life, Sarah Shawaker on August 20, 1960, in Toledo, OH. She passed away in 2012. Out of that union, they had 2 sons, Paul and Thomas, seven grandchildren; Steven Howe, Kenneth Howe, Patrick Howe, Rebecca Mullen, Ronald Parker, Ashia Parker, and Stephanie Parker; and three great grandchildren; Payton Howe, Maicee Howe, and Emmett Lathrup.

After working as a dentist for seven years, Gerald operated his own local practice, Gerald L. Howe, DDS in Monroe until his retirement in 1998. He became the only full-time orthodontist in Monroe upon moving to the community. He was an orthodontic and dentofacial orthopedics specialist that gave many a “perfect” smile around the Monroe area. Gerald was a proud member of the Michigan Dental Society and loved his line of work. He was also known to frequent the Monroe Family YMCA where he was a longtime member and part of the board of directors. He was also a part of The Foundation at Monroe County Community College where he served on the board of directors. Gerald was also a member of the Monroe Rotary Club.

Gerald was a strong family man. In his spare time, Gerald loved spending time with his grand kids. In general, Gerald had a soft spot for children. He helped build and repair the children’s play area at Munson Park in Monroe. Gerald loved woodworking and was a huge Michigan Wolverine football fan.

Dr. Gerald Howe passed away November 23, 2018, at the age of 82.