DOE researcher Howard dies at 62

Thursday, Dec. 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A motorcyclist and award-winning pilot, Winifred Alice Howard tracked radioactive fallout in the laboratory and the field.

Known as "Winnie" to her Las Vegas friends, Howard died Nov. 17 in Ft. Valley, Ga., and will be buried Saturday in Athens, Ga. She was 62.

Born March 31, 1934, in Plains, Ga., Howard had returned to Georgia six years ago after retiring from the U.S. Department of Energy's Nevada Operations Office.

She was the sole woman team member selected by the DOE for repeat assignments to Alaska's Aleutian Islands for fish, wildlife and natural resources monitoring as an environmental scientist and chemist for both the DOE and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Howard seemed happiest in the field, but she did large surveys requiring extensive lab analysis, said one of her EPA supervisors, Jim Mullins.

"I worked with Winnie," he said. "She was one of the nicest people."

While working at EPA, Howard traced radioactive Strontium-90 in milk and water samples and worked on a lake water survey for two years before leaving EPA in 1972, Mullins said.

Retired EPA worker David Stevenson remembered the large British motorcycle ridden by the 5-foot Howard.

She received the EPA gold medal for distinguished service in 1972.

Before joining federal government labs, Howard spent 1957 to 1966 as a medical research chemist for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

She was a licensed pilot and a member of the Ninety Nine, the women pilots club. In 1976 she placed in the Powder Puff Derby cross-country flight competition. She was a member of Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif.

She is survived by two sisters, Sarah Howard Silverthorn of Del Mar, Calif., and Margaret Howard Drubig of Reutlinger, Germany.

The family requests donations to the American Heart Association, 363 Pierce Ave., Macon, Ga. 31204 or the American Cancer Society, 1403 Watson Blvd., Warner Robins, Ga. 31088.