Kevin "Kev" Brown Howard

Kevin Brown Howard of Loveland, Colorado passed away on August 9th, 2025. His sudden loss was unexpected, and his family is profoundly saddened. He was only 26 years of age. Kevin, the youngest of two children, was born on March 26th, 1999, at the Val Verde Medical Center in Del Rio, Texas to John and Dana Howard. Both of his parents served in the United States Air Force, so their family lived in numerous locations across the world. During job interviews, Kevin liked to sum up his childhood moves by stating that he attended first grade in Honolulu Hawaii, graduated high school in the United Kingdom, and lived in various locations across the United States in between.

The family has many fond memories of adventures in Hawaii, from regular weekend trips to Barbers Point beach with the Groenheim, Holba, and Heisler families, to visits to the other islands for hikes and the amazing sights of Hawaii. His enjoyment of outdoor activities led him to join the Boy Scouts of America. When Kevin lived in Fairfield, California he earned his Eagle Scout rank at the age of 14.

Spending time with family was very important to Kevin. The family spent many weekends visiting the Brown side of the family and enjoying gatherings with Kevin’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who live in Northern California. Some of our favorite memories are of Kevin and his grandfather, Doug Brown, collaborating on Boy Scout and school projects, hearing how much his Great Aunt Jane enjoyed his big hugs, enjoying Kevin’s stories about flying with his Uncle Eric, and watching Kevin admire Christmas ornaments his grandmother, Jan Brown, made that celebrated Kevin’s latest accomplishments. Most recently, he would stay at the Brown family residence for his flying job in Northern California. Grandma Brown would wake up prior to Kevin’s early morning departure for the day and make him peanut butter and honey sandwiches. She would also sneak a $20 bill in his lunch bag to help cover gas expenses.

Summers were an unforgettable time for Kevin. Every year, Kevin’s paternal grandparents hosted a “family beach week” for the Howard side of the family. Some of the best memories at Bethany Beach were of playing hide-and-seek, days on the beach playing in the ocean, heading to Ocean City for tubing adventures, or simply walking to the boardwalk to enjoy ice cream with his sister and 11 cousins.

Kevin graduated from Lakenheath High School, approximately 50 miles north-east of London. He earned a special honor from the physics department because Kevin created a balsa wood bridge that was the strongest in his class and even outperformed the teacher’s bridge. What the physics teacher didn’t know was that Kevin had worked with “Gramps” Howard (a former US Army Artillery Officer and retired Physics teacher) who passed along some well-honed bridge building techniques to ensure Kevin’s bridge was nearly indestructible. Kevin played football for the Lakenheath Lancers and enjoyed noting that he was one of the quarterbacks for the team. The group of friends that he made in high school are still very close to this day and Kevin valued their friendship. Kevin briefly attended the University of Iowa. In Iowa City, he met some great new friends and had core memories of playing football in Hubbard Park and early morning wake ups for physical fitness training with his roommate, Justin. He also had the opportunity to spend time with his uncle, Matt Howard, the Chief of Neurosurgery at the University of Iowa, and Matt’s amazing family.

During a flight with his dad in a general aviation aircraft, Kevin’s passion for aviation was ignited. His Dad was Kevin’s first flight instructor at the Travis Air Force Base Aero Club, and the family was incredibly proud when he earned his Private Pilot license. Kevin eventually decided to transfer to Liberty University to pursue his passion for flying and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in aviation with Magna CumLaude honors.

Kevin went on to earn his Instrument rating and his Single/Multi-engine Commercial licenses and had accrued over 1,100 total hours. He was selectively picked to become a Flight Operations Intern at United Airlines. That was his first “real” office job and the whole family was engaged to ensure his success. One example of the support Kevin enjoyed is that his mom would have dinner ready for Kevin when he returned home and would spend the evenings prepping Kevin’s attire for the next duty day because Kevin was in bed shortly after dinner. Kevin learned a lot from that internship working with Rob and the Human Factors and Pilot Development Team.

Kevin’s first flying job was with Golden Gate Skydive in Novato and Cloverdale, California as a skydive pilot. He LOVED that job, his boss Tyler, and all his teammates. He was recently hired as a second-in-command for pilots attending Beech 400 jet training at CAE’s simulator training center in Orlando, Florida. Additionally, he was set to begin a new position as a co-pilot on a Learjet 55 flying charter flights for Florida Jet. His eventual goal was to join his dad as a pilot at United Airlines

Kevin is survived by his sister, Emily, his father and mother, John and Dana Howard and his grandmothers Jan Brown and Joan Howard. Kevin is predeceased by his grandfathers, Doug Brown and Matthew Howard Jr.; his great uncles, Ellis Brown, Pete Brown, Frank Foley, and John Gallivan; his great aunts, Catherine Gallivan and Patricia Foley; and his great grandmother “Wivvy” Brown. Last, but certainly not least, he is predeceased by his two favorite Airedale Terriers, Calista Rose and Lucky.

There are many other young men and women who share Kevin’s passion for flying but finances can be major challenge to their journey. With that in mind, in lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider making a donation to the Kevin Howard Memorial Flying Scholarship fund. Scholarships will be awarded to deserving Aero Club pilots to defray flying expenses associated with earning the FAA licenses Kevin was proud to have earned.

Kevin Brown Howard Memorial Scholarship Fund | Bold.org