La Juana Howick

La Juana Cope Howick, age 85 of Salt Lake City, passed away on February 24, 2018, surrounded by family. A memorial service in her honor will be held at Cannon Mortuary on February 28, 2018, at 10 am.  She is survived by her son, Larry Howick (Billie), her daughter, Ann Purdie (Ronald), seven grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, George Muratella (Gilda) and her sister, Norma Castillo (Paul).  She was married to the late Walter Howick for over 60 years.

La Juana’s defining legacy is the love she shared with her family.  She had a gift for making those she loved feel special and appreciated. She was selfless. She came to love fishing, sports, and exploring the Utah backcountry in a jeep, not necessarily because those are the things she would have chosen to be passionate about, but because her late husband, Walter, loved those things and those activities meant spending time with her husband, children and then grandchildren, and she loved anything that resulted in quality family time.  She made an effort to have personal, meaningful and unique relationships with each member of her family.  She made everyone in the family feel like she was blessed to have them in her life, which was one of the many reasons everyone in her family realized how blessed they were to have her in their lives.

La Juana will be missed by all those who knew her for her kindness, humor, empathy, intellect, support and love. She was the best mom, grandma and friend.  She was quick to laugh, loyal to a fault and never boring.

La Juana had a great sense of humor and exhibited a quick wit and sarcasm that made her a joy to talk to.  For her grandchildren, who as children were forbidden to swear but sometimes secretly did so anyway, her occasional grandmotherly curse words made her instantly relatable and lovable.  She was a willing and empathetic listener, and never judgmental.   She was unique.  She was the only known living “La Juana” on earth.  Although her children and grandchildren loved her dearly, none loved her enough to pass that name on to another generation; therefore, this may also be an obituary for the name “La Juana”.

La Juana will be really, truly missed. She was the glue that kept her family together and the steady ship in all storms.  She was a wonderful mother and grandma in all the ways that mattered.  She was a friend, a confidante, an appreciative and interesting conversationalist, a supporter in all our endeavors, and most importantly, someone who loved us unconditionally.  We love you, Gran.  Tell Grandpa hello from all of us.