William John “Bill” Howard

William John (Bill) Howard, born April 6, 1932, died at home, on Sunday, March 15, 2020, at age 87.  Raised on a dairy farm in Alto, Bill was the second of five boys born to George and Lenore Howard. In his early education years, he attended the one room schoolhouse in Bowne Center and graduated from Caledonia High School in 1950.  Following high school, Bill served three years in the U.S. Army, spending most of that time in Germany. He attended Western Michigan University on the G.I. Bill and married his high school sweetheart, Joan Finkbeiner, who survives him.  Bill earned an accounting degree from Western and accepted a job as a comptroller for the Durametallic Corporation in Kalamazoo.  He loved numbers and enjoyed the challenges of balancing a spreadsheet.  During this time, he also discovered he had a talent and love for golf.

In 1959, Bill and Joan purchased a 200-acre farm in Caledonia Township to develop a golf course, which is known today as Saskatoon Golf Club.  Saskatoon opened with 9 holes in 1964.  Bill left his job at Durametallic and soon the golf business became the main focus of his and Joan’s lives.  Along with long-time course superintendent, Carl Pickard, Bill and Joan developed Saskatoon to 36 holes, a driving range and extensive practice facilities by 1992.  One of his favorite past-times over the decades was talking with the many patrons and friends who walked through Saskatoon’s doors. Even into his mid-eighties, Bill was moving forward to build a new 9-hole course to be named the Silver. He had hoped to see the Silver nine open this fall.

Bill is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joan, brothers James (Sally) Howard, Thomas (Fran) Howard, and Raymond “Charlie” (Diane) Howard, sister-in-law, Bonnie Howard and many special nieces and nephews, including nephew Pat Howard (Eamar) and great-nephews, Nathan and Declan Howard.  He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Lenore Howard, in-laws, Aaron and Evah Finkbeiner, brother, George “Joe” Howard and sister-in-law, Nancy Howard. Bill took great interest in the lives of all his nieces and nephews, and enjoyed spending time with cousins at the annual hayride.

 Over the years, Bill was very active in organizations supporting the golf business, including the Michigan Golf Course Association, West Michigan Tourist Association, National Golf Course Owners Association, as well as AMBUCS.  He was a parishioner at Holy Family Catholic Church in Caledonia. One of Bill’s greatest joys was to meet the young boys and girls who came to Saskatoon to learn to golf.  He never missed the opportunity to engage them in playful conversation, asking them “Now, are you a 1 or a 2 handicap?”.

Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, services and a memorial celebration for Bill will be scheduled at a future date.