Leonard Howard

Leonard Howard Jr. also known as Jay was born May 27, 1960 to Leonard Howard Sr. & Vivian Rosalee Campbell in Kansas City, KS at KU Medical Center. He was the youngest of 7 children. At an early age Leonard professed his faith & accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior and was baptized at Cannon Missionary Baptist Church in Kansas City, MO. He attended Sanford B. Ladd Elementary, Central Jr High, & Westport High School.  After high school Leonard later attended The Marine Corp in Pendleton,CA. When Leonard returned to Kansas City, MO he reunited with the love of his life Debra Ann Sims. At that time Debra had two twin girls Clarissa & Larissa Sims whom he took in, loved, and raised as his own from day one. Years later together their love created the apple of his eye their baby girl Terri Howard. 

Leonard worked as a sky capper for Northwest Airlines. His job transferred him to Washington DC and then later to St. Paul, MN where he married the love of his life on Dec 18, 1992. While living in St. Paul he became an entrepreneur and started 3 new businesses. Jays Towing & Mechanical Services, Jays Limousine Service, & Jays Janitorial & Cleaning Services.  After many years he relocated his family back to KCMO to be back with the rest of their family. Leonard loved spending time with his family they were always his 1st priority there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his loved ones. He looked out for everybody & would feed and or give the clothes off his back to anybody, it didn’t matter if you were family, a friend or a stranger. He took pride in loving his wife, raising his daughters, bonding with his grandkids and just being the best Father, Husband, Grandpa, Brother, & Uncle he could be. Leonard was one of a kind, He was the life of the party & had a great sense of humor always joking and loved to make others laugh. He had a way of telling stories, he loved to educate you by sharing his knowledge and experiences. He enjoyed watching Sports, Westerns & Wheel of Fortune. He was a very educated man who lived by the words Loyalty Respect & Perception. He loved to write out different words and meanings using acronyms. He loved to play spades, basketball, work on cars, read, fish, skate, listen to music & dance especially two stepping. He loved the game of pool influenced by his late father’s memory who was a well-known pool player on 18th & Vine. Leonard was a very competitive man who carried his pool stick everywhere in search of a good pool competition. He was the Champ, over the years Jay became very known for his pool skills & received many trophies for placing 1st place in different competitions. He also loved the game of Dominos. Anyone that knows Jay knows that he was the Domino King. He would sit up for hours playing dominos finding humor in beating anyone that set at the table with him. He loved to cook he could whip up any meal in the kitchen, but his passion was his famous BBQ Ribs, he was definitely The Grill Master and he didn’t have a problem letting it be known. Leonard was a complete joy to be around. He was a Leader, a hardworking man a Hustler by any means necessary, a Fighter who overcame more obstacles in his lifetime then one can ever imagine, A Hero & most of all a Legend who will be forever cherished & truly missed.

Leonard departed this life peacefully on Sunday, Sept 5, 2021. He was proceeded in death by both parents Leonard Sr & Vivian Howard whom he lost at a very young age. His Stepmother Jennie Howard his sister Linda Hicks, brother Willard Howard, brother in law Gregory Sims, nephews Jouel “Damon” Gwinn, Cornelius Young & niece Lashonda Young. Leonard leaves to cherish his memories, his devoted wife of 45yrs Debra Sims-Howard, 3 daughters Terri Howard, Clarissa Sims,&  Larissa Sims all of Kansas City, MO. Two sisters Joyce Howard-Young (Freddie) of Oklahoma City, OK., Marion Foreman (Ronnie) of Kansas City, MO. Two brothers Raymond Campbell Sr of Wichita, KS., Danny (Janice) Howard of Overland Park, KS. Three sisters in laws Marilyn Wright (Edward), Veronica Farnsworth (Tony), & Terri Adams (Marcellous), Six grandkids Sa’Miyiah Bolden, Hazzaun, Ta’Keyla, Brittney, Precious Sims, & Trinity Platt, 2 great grandkids Heaven Herron & Ka’Mora Jackson all of Kansas City, MO, two special nieces Vivian Keaton & Whitney Johnson a host of many more nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family & friends.

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