James Leland Howard III

James Leland Howard III, “Larry,” (73) passed away peacefully Tuesday (April 7, 2020) at home surrounded by his loving family. Born in New York, NY on June 14, 1946, he was the eldest child of the late James Leland Howard Jr. and Sallie Day (Roberts) Howard. Larry attended Kingswood in West Hartford and graduated in 1964. He went on to attend Babson College where his love for music drove him to start his own radio show “Strictly Instrumental” on campus station WRWB. He graduated from Babson in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in Business. Larry enlisted in the United States Air Force that same year and was stationed in Peru, IN. While at Grissom Air Base he enrolled at Ball State University where he earned a Master of Arts in Management with a minor in Political Science. He married his beloved wife of 50+ years Margaret Anne Beuchert at Christ Church in Alexandria, VA on November 1, 1969. An avid New York Yankees fan, Larry made baseball a 365-day-a-year sport by being active in various baseball clubs and fantasy leagues. He joined the World Series Club in 1973, where he was a board member, final standings contest winner and one of the club’s longest-serving members. He was a regular at local and national Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) meetings and Strat-O-Matic gatherings and took home various awards for his predictions and baseball strategy, including the Robot Fantasy Baseball League Champion award. Larry was also a history buff who was especially interested in American presidents and the Civil War. He was a longtime member of the CT Civil War Round Table. Larry started his professional career in the insurance industry at Northwestern Mutual but radio was his first love. He went on to pursue a decades-long career in radio, spinning records for various stations across Connecticut, including Lite 100.5 WRCH and WNTY. Larry used his superb radio voice to lead parishioners in readings at St. James’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, where he was a longtime member. He assisted people with disabilities by reading the news for CRIS Radio in Windsor, CT where he was a staff member and volunteer. He became known as “the voice of Travel Insured International,” where he loved working for nearly 25 years. In addition to his wife, Larry is survived by his loving daughters, of whom he was so proud, Carrie Anne Howard; Cassandra Jean Howard (Ron Ramirez); Kimberly Beth Howard (Timothy Skov), grandchildren Mark Noah and MaKayla Anne, his siblings Julie (Angelo Lewis), Saralee (Jim Schultz), Holly, Douglas and many nieces, nephews and friends. His family remembers his spirited sense of humor, distinctive red hair and his warmness toward everyone. A private burial ceremony was held at the historic Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, CT on Thursday, April 9. A memorial service will be scheduled for a later date. In lieu of flowers, and to honor Larry’s courageous battle, please give blood to the American Red Cross or donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. For online condolences, please visit www.taylorandmodeenconnecticut.com.