Priscilla Lane and Col. Joseph A. Howard - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. Help us build our profile of Priscilla Lane and Col. Joseph A. Howard!
Login
to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions.
(22 May 1942 - 18 May 1976) (his death) 4 children
1. Joseph Lawrence (31 Dec 1945)
2. Hannah (17 Apr 1950)
3. Judith (22 Aug 1953)
4. James (4 Dec 1955)
In early 1942, the engagement to Barry ended after she met Joseph Howard, a young Army Air Corps lieutenant, at a dude ranch in the Mojave Desert. A native of Lawrence, Massachusetts, he had joined the Army Air Corps straight from college in 1939. He was scouting the area for likely sites for air bases and had taken a short vacation. The couple were married on May 22, 1942, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the home of the executive officer of an Army Air Force gunnery school.
At the war's end in 1945, Lane and Howard were living in New Mexico and she was pregnant with their first child. Their son, Joseph Lawrence, was born on December 31, 1945. In 1946 after Howard's discharge from the service, the couple moved back to California, where they resided in Victorville. Howard, who had a degree in engineering, became a building contractor. The family moved to Van Nuys in December 1945. Afterwards Howard and Lane moved to Studio City. Priscilla became pregnant again in 1949. On April 17, 1950, her daughter Hannah was born. By June 1951 the boom in the construction industry in New England had Lane and her family moving back to Howard's native Massachusetts. Howard left the final decision to end her career to Lane, who later declared she never regretted her choice. She fell in love with New England, and the couple settled with their children in Andover, Massachusetts. Lane was busy with her family. She gave birth to a second daughter, Judith, on August 22, 1953. The Howard's fourth and youngest child, James, was born December 4, 1955.
Outside her family, Priscilla remained busy. She was devoutly religious, having converted to Roman Catholicism, as had her elder sister Lola. The family attended church regularly, and she was involved with Catholic charities. She enjoyed tending her garden, growing flowers and vegetables. She ran a girl scout troop and volunteered at local hospitals.
In July 1972, Joe Howard retired from business, and he and Lane moved to their summer home at 7 Howards Grove in Derry, New Hampshire. Howard died suddenly on May 18, 1976, aged 60. He was still in the Air Force Reserve, which he had joined after his discharge from active duty in 1946. Heartbroken, Priscilla remained in Derry. She said, more than a year later in 1977, "I'm still trying to pull myself together after Joe's death." She busied herself with volunteer work and her garden.