Maria V. Howard

Maria V. Howard, age 84, passed away on April 7, 2010. Ms. Howard was born Maria Van de Velde on May 10, 1925 in Antwerp, Belgium. In Belgium, Mrs. Howard worked for the U. S. Army where she learned to speak English. In 1945 after the liberation of Belgium, she married Major Herbert E. Howard, an American soldier, and came to live in Rocky Mount in 1946. Her parents, Louis and Alida Van de Velde followed her to Rocky Mount in 1949 and made their home across the street from their daughter until their deaths. Ms. Howard was a naturalized American citizen. Maria Howard was a very artistically talented individual. She studied for five years at the Antwerp School of Design. She received her diploma after four years and planned to complete two more years, but all schools in Antwerp were closed in 1944-45 when the V-1's bombed the city. She was an expert seamstress who not only used her tailoring expertise to make virtually all of her own clothing, but designed the garments and made her own patterns. In 1966, she was featured in an article in the Rocky Mount Sunday Telegram for her tailoring talents. Mrs. Howard was very active in Rocky Mount community life and kept detailed scrapbooks of the activities in which she was involved. She was a long time member of the Rocky Mount Garden Club serving as President 1971-1972. She was a very talented flower arranger and a review of her scrapbooks reveals that she frequently won blue ribbons on the arrangements she entered in garden shows. In recognition of her dedication to the organization, the Rocky Mount Garden Club dedicated one of its scrapbooks to her with this inscription, "We dedicate this scrapbook to Maria Howard who has brought great beauty into our lives. This beauty has been shown, not only through your creative talents, but also through your loveliness of character. Your willingness to give your time and talents for the benefit of many of the Garden Club's undertakings has been greatly appreciated and the results of your talents have brought joy and inspiration to many people." Mrs. Howard was recently made a lifetime member of the club. Mrs. Howard was also a talented artist. The walls of her home are adorned with many of her paintings. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Rocky Mount Arts Center before it became a part of the City's Parks and Recreation Department and was a charter member. She participated in the landscaping of the Arts Center. Mrs. Howard was a staunch supporter of the building of the Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences and was honored at its Grand Opening. Maria Howard served for three years on the Sears Garden Club HANDS (Home and Neighborhood Development Sponsors) Board based in Atlanta, Georgia. HANDS sponsored beautification projects through Garden Clubs in ten southeastern states that involved seventy-five cities. As the local HANDS chair, Mrs. Howard coordinated planting holly trees on Main Street and accepted an Award of Merit at the HANDS awards program in Nashville, Tennessee for the Battle Park Gazebo and the planting of dogwood trees at City Lake, along U.S. Highway 301 Business and Highway 43. Mrs. Howard's scrapbooks also reveal that she was a much sought after speaker for numerous clubs throughout the area where she reported on the customs of her native Belgium and life there before World War II, during the war when Belgium was occupied by Germany, and after the Liberation. Her presentations were always described as very interesting and informative. Additionally, in 1975, she was appointed by Mayor Frederick Turnage as Vice Chairman of the Rocky Mount Bicentennial Committee and chaired the Horizon's subcommittee. She was a member of the Arts and Travel Book Club. Mrs. Howard was predeceased by a son, Herbert Michael Howard, her husband, Herbert E. Howard, and her parents, Louis and Alida Van de Velde. Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at Pineview Cemetery with Reverend Alice Johnson-Curl of Trinity Lutheran Church officiating. A gathering of friends will be held from 6-8:00 p.m. on Friday evening at the home of Wes and Jean Bailey, 800 Tarboro Street, Rocky Mount, NC 27801. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rocky Mount Garden Club, c/o Debby Zavadil, Treasurer, 224 Foxhall Drive, Rocky Mount NC 27804; Tar River Choral and Orchestral Society, P.O. Box 8255, Rocky Mount, NC 27804; or the City of Rocky Mount Arts Center, P.O. Box 1180, Rocky Mount NC 27802. Members of the Rocky Mount Garden Club will serve as honorary pallbearers. Arrangements entrusted to Wheeler and Woodlief Funeral Home, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount NC. You may share your memories and send the family condolences online by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com. Visitation Location Not Available Friday 4/9, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Service Pineview Cemetery 761 N. Raleigh Road Rocky Mount, NC 27801 Saturday 4/10, 2:00 pm Cemetery Pineview Cemetery 761 N. Raleigh Road Rocky Mount, NC 27801