David Brooks (Dixie) Howell, 75, of Pemaquid Point, died of natural causes on July 21. He was born on July 13, 1938 in Port Chester, N.Y. to Marion (Emelin) and Mortimer Howell.
David was a distinguished educator with almost 50 years of service to the Pearl River, N.Y., New Haven, Conn. and Bristol public schools as math teacher, administrator, and school committee member. He was passionate about classical music, food, drink and a good story. He retired, in 1999, to Pemaquid Point to indulge his love of the Maine coast. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Cornell University, he earned his Masters in Mathematics and Education at Southern Connecticut State University.
Upon graduation from Cornell in 1960, David served two years on active duty with the U.S. Navy and four more years of ready reserve, earning an honorable discharge with the rank of Lieutenant Commander in 1972.
He started his teaching career at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Va., and went on to teach math at Hillhouse High School and Richard C. Lee High School in New Haven, Conn. and Pearl River High School in Pearl River, N.Y. His administrative positions included chair of the math department at Richard C. Lee High School from 1967-1970, K-12 mathematics coordinator for the Pearl River School District (1970-1979), and, in his final full-time position, supervisor of mathematics of the New Haven public schools from 1982 until his retirement. In 2006, he was elected to the Bristol Consolidated School Committee and served with distinction, including a stint as chair, until resigning in 2012.
Among his many achievements as an educator, David was named director of research and development for Project Measure, a statewide initiative in New York promoting use of the metric system, during his tenure at the Pearl River schools. He spent three years educating other educators on metric standards and how to implement them in the classroom.
He was a past chair and board member of the Ulysses S. Grant Foundation while living in Connecticut. The Grant Foundation is a program run by Yale undergraduates to teach promising inner-city students after school and in the summer. David’s outstanding expertise in education and teacher development for the Grant Foundation allowed him to guide undergraduates to work effectively with young students. His mentoring helped launch several careers in teaching and education policy.
David also served on the board of the Common Ground Charter High School in New Haven. David’s influence at Common Ground was critical in helping the school provide highly innovative and effective instruction and reach national recognition in environmental education.
David was an active and enthusiastic participant in the Program to Improve Mastery of Mathematics and Science in the State of Connecticut, was active in both New York and Connecticut Associations of Mathematics where he served on the executive boards, was a past president of the Connecticut Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, chaired various regional and state math conferences in New York and Connecticut, was a regular speaker on the metric system during his tenure with Project Measure, and was a recipient of the Teacher, Administrator, Parent, Student Award from the New Haven Public Schools.
Work did not end with the close of the school day for David. Among other activities, he participated in civil rights organizations in Virginia and Connecticut preparing students for integration into previously all-white schools and working for equal housing opportunities.
Active in the Episcopalian church, he served a vestryman at St. Paul’s Church in Spring Valley, N.Y., and St. Andrews in Newcastle. David was active in the Bristol Area Lions Club, as both treasurer and member, and served two years as president of the Pemaquid Point Association Board. He was a dedicated member of the Board of the Friends of the DaPonte String Quartet and seldom missed a concert – sometimes attending the same concert, at different locations, three nights in a row.
David had great affection for the state of Maine, having attended Camp Hawthorne in Raymond as camper and counselor and having been a regular visitor to Pemaquid Point since he was in kindergarten. He and his immediate family began regular vacations in Pemaquid in 1972 and David and his wife made it their retirement residence in 2002. David loved to sit and watch the ocean shimmer on a glorious summer day; a glass of champagne in one hand, the other gesticulating as he traded stories with one of the many visitors that he entertained at his home near Pemaquid Point Light.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Jemi (Humphreys); sons, Clark and wife Nualchan of Hamden, Conn., Geoff and wife Debbie of Sudbury, Mass.; and grandchildren, Darcy and Brooks of Sudbury, Mass.
A memorial service will be held 10 a.m., Sat., Aug. 17 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Newcastle.
You are invited to share your condolences with the Howell family by visiting their Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of Hall Funeral Home, 949 Main St., Waldoboro.
