Jesse Ray Howard

Jesse Ray Howard, 48, of Abilene, passed away Saturday, June 4th, 2022. Jesse was born in Abilene, Kansas on February 9, 1974, a son of Cathy (Brown) Cosby of Abilene and Daniel Ray Howard, also of Abilene. Jesse worked for Home Depot in Manhattan and Topeka as a manager. He graduated from Abilene High School in 1992 and attended Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas. He also belonged to the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Manhattan. Jesse was a smart and strong-willed child, a “cute and mischievous daredevil.” He was always first over the bike ramps and undeterred even when he would crash and burn. 46 stitches on his nose later, he would be ready to go ride again! Jesse was the oldest of three boys. He could rock a mullet and even influence his brothers to as well. He was always an entrepreneur; at a young age, Jesse was a collector of many things, including golf balls. He would find, wash, and resell the golf balls to the men at the course. By fourth grade, he had befriended those men and was able to save money for his very own set of golf clubs and membership. Jesse loved playing games; the only way you could win against him was if it was strictly a game of chance! Fun with him was crazy fun! He enjoyed making others laugh. He liked to catch people off guard by a shock or surprise, like a 52-card pick-up! Jesse would go to the grocery store and cook new recipes, but he always enjoyed his mama’s stroganoff and special chocolate cherry cake. Jesse enjoyed working hard, setting goals, and making plans to achieve them. He had great skills as a contractor and craftsman. He was sought after by many of his bosses, including his Home Depot family, where he was popular with colleagues and customers. He was appreciated for how smoothly he could run complex company inventories and provide just what customers needed. You could catch Jesse watching the Chiefs and Wildcats, riding his motorcycle, and helping others. He enjoyed designing and building and could fix most anything. Most people would remember Jesse in a Dixxon flannel shirt; he had quite a selection of them! Jesse will be so missed by many. Jesse loved deeply, especially his girls, had fun deeply, and hurt deeply. If you were a friend of Jesse’s, he was there for you and if life got busy and you didn’t see each other for a while, when you reconnected it was like your friendship never missed a beat. Some people would say he was a tough guy, but his girls knew he was a big teddy bear, even while being protective of them. His girls have said some of their biggest enjoyments were his sense of humor, his joking, and prank-playing, along with him being their best friend. Survivors include his parents Cathy (Phillip) Cosby of Abilene and Daniel (Cherokee) Howard, also of Abilene; children, Molly Howard of Abilene, Macy Howard of Russell, Jessa Howard of Abilene, and Josh Duer of Chapman; two brothers, Jim (Ashley) Howard of Salina, Justin Seaman of Hutchinson, three step-sisters, Jessica Martinez of Wichita, Justine Cosby of Lake Forrest, CA, and Deb Marston of Chapman; two step brothers Jeremy (Marcee) Cosby of Wichita, Darren Seaman of Kansas City; grandmothers, Gertrude Brown of Abilene, and Shirley Howard of Talmage. He is also survived by 3 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Jesse was preceded in death by his grandfathers, Eugene Howard and Ted Brown. Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, June 25 at 11:00 am at Emmanuel Church in Abilene. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Hope Is Alive @ hopeisalive.net or the Yellow Ribbon Program @ yellowribbon.org. If you know someone who struggles with brokenness in life, help is available through these programs and also at Betterhelp.com.