Dirk Randall Howard

Survived by his wife Lia; mother Shirley; sister Tammy Fleetwood; brother Brad (Mary); son Jason (Heather) and grandchildren Seth and Wren; daughter Annie (Derrick) Eichele and grandchildren Ryan, Madi, Luke, Ben and John; daughter Tiffany (Asa) Richens and grandchildren Aiden and Mitchell; and daughter Nicole (Dominick) Yost and grandchild Kailey. Preceded in death by father Robert G. Howard, grandson Robert C. Howard, and his canine best friend, Shadow.

Dirk was born in Georgia but spent his childhood surrounded by friends and family in Casper, Wyoming, where he graduated from Kelly Walsh High School in 1972. He moved to Denver to earn a BSBA from Metro State College and an MBA from University of Denver, and during this time, Jason and Annie were born. After returned to Casper for a few years, they moved to Colorado Springs where Dirk worked for Pikes Peak Community College, starting as a controller and retiring in 2004 as Vice President for Administrative Services. Dirk met his wife Lia at PPCC, and they married on August 3, 1991, blending their families with the addition of Tiffany and Nicole. Dirk and Lia spent many years working together at the college, making many lifelong friends along the way. He enjoyed playing pool and softball, bowling, traveling, watching football (especially the Denver Broncos) and of course, spreadsheets.

Dirk traded in his love of spreadsheets for retirement in 2004. He designed and build his dream home on 200 acres near Kingman, Arizona. Dirk spent many happy years there riding ATVs, jet skis, boating, and he especially loved arrowhead hunting with his best friend, Shadow. Papa and Nana, as their eleven grandchildren affectionately call them, loved hosting friends and family in their homes in Arizona, Colorado, and finally, Florida. They enjoyed traveling across the U.S. and Europe, especially Dirk’s favorite place: Germany, where he discovered the Segway, his new favorite hobby. He received the gift of a lung transplant in 2016 which gave him several bonus years. He became known in his Florida neighborhood as the Segway Man because he traveled about 15 miles a day on it! Dirk celebrated his 70th birthday in 2024 surrounds by a house filled with family. Dirk loved us deeply, and we love and will miss him dearly. Happy trails, Dirk, until we meet again.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 15 at the Elks Lodge in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 3400 N. Nevada Ave., from 2 – 5 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made in Dirk’s name to the Foundation for Colorado Community Colleges: https://cccs.edu/about/foundation/give/ or mailed to FCCC, 9101 East Lowry Blvd., Denver, CO 80230.