Howard William Robertson
( February 29, 1924 – December 10, 2018 )
Howard William Robertson, of Ione Ranch, 20 miles NE of Nara Visa, New Mexico died Monday, December 10, 2019. Howard was 94 when he died peacefully.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at 2:00 P.M. at the First Baptist Church in Clayton, New Mexico with Rev. Billy Rammage, officiating. Burial will follow in the Clayton Memorial Cemetery by Hass Funeral Directors of Clayton, New Mexico.
Howard was born February 29, 1924 to Hugh and Lola Mae Robertson in Farnsworth, Texas. His family moved to New Mexico in January of 1930 when he was just 5 years old. He always said that his Daddy brought them to New Mexico and never had the money to leave so they just stayed! He attended school at Hayden and it was there at the age of 8 that he spied the love of his life, Pauline Heimann. He spent much of his time helping his dad move cattle and horses for the neighbors to the train station in Dalhart.
He graduated from Clayton High School and went to Santa Fe with a group of Union County boys to proudly enlist in the military and went into the US Navy in March of 1944, during World War II. After boot camp in San Diego, Howard selected to go to sound school. After the school was over he was assigned to the U.S.S. Strong DD758 and he and his ship sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge on March 27, 1945 and headed to Pearl Harbor. During the war he was a Sonarman and spent most of his time listening for enemy torpedoes and communicating with the Bridge. He saw many islands around Japan and was in Okinawa when the war ended. One story that serves as a testament to Howard’s love of family and tenacity occurred about that time. Howard’s brother, Earl, served during WWII in the US Army. As luck would have it he and 2 million other Army personnel were in Japan at that same time that the USS Strong was there. Howard found out that Earl was just 3 miles away from him and decided he had to see him. He asked his division officer if he could go see Earl but was denied. However, the next day when he was on liberty he started hitchhiking and an Army truck picked him up. They took him to Osaka, where Earl’s unit was stationed and showed him how to look at the bumpers of the Army trucks to see the unit numbers. Amazingly, he found it and found his way to Earl. That was quite a night for both of them because they hadn’t seen each other in 3 years and a celebration was to be had. Howard made it to his ship in a little over 24 hours and had a little explaining to do. He always said it was worth it just for that one night with his brother. Howard was in the United States Navy for 2 years, 2 months and 19 days and he was very proud to have served. He was discharged in Boston after the war ended as a Second Class Sound Operator Mate.
When he got back to New Mexico he asked Pauline Heimann to marry him and she said yes! Howard and Pauline were married in the parsonage in Clayton, NM on July 28th, 1946. Their life together was full of many laughs, lots of family and tons of hard work. Howard and Pauline worked on the ranch side by side and were always eager to help a friend or a neighbor. He was a good steward of the land and loved and appreciated the cowboy way of life and was voted Cowbell Father of the Year. He was a lifelong member of New Mexico Cattle Growers and a charter member of the Rosebud Volunteer Fire Department. Howard loved the Lord and was a charter member of the Boyce Evan Evangelist Association and a dedicated member of First Baptist Church. He was an incredible daddy to two children, Deana and Van and was an amazing husband, papa, grandad and friend. He and his bride were married 21 days short of 65 years. He loved her with all of his heart and he missed her incredibly until he took his last breath
SURVIVORS:
1 DAUGHTER: Deana Robertson Shugart and her husband Dennis of Amarillo, Texas.
1 SON: Van Robertson and his wife Judy of Clapham, New Mexico.
4 GRANDCHILDREN: Kori Royal and her boyfriend Cody Smith of Amarillo, Texas, Tanner Shugart and his wife Jacqueline of Dalhart, Texas, Jana Lees and her husband Russell of Dalhart, Texas and Dustin Robertson and his wife Crystal of Nara Visa, New Mexico.
4 GREAT-GRANDSONS: Ian Shugart, Matthew Lees, Garrett Wilson and Lance Robertson.
8 GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTERS: Brook Robertson, Hannah Shugart, Kennedy Royal, Ani Lees, Farrah Royal, Brinn Royal, Aubrey Wilson and Hailee Robertson.
MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, and to honor the amazing life of Howard Robertson, the family suggests donations be made to NM Boys and Girls Ranch 6209 Hendricks Rd NE. Albuquerque, NM. 87110
