Howard Rowe Underhay

To view the funeral service for Mr. Howard Underhay from the Carnell Memorial Chapel on Thursday, March 31st at 2:00 p.m., please follow the link below:

https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/authorise.php?k=1648500389175206

Passed peacefully away at his home on March 27, 2022, Howard Rowe Underhay, of Heart’s Content, Trinity Bay, NL at 93 years of age. Predeceased by parents, Edmund Underhay & Elsie Underhay (Rowe); sister Dorothy Quanbury (Ernie) of Hagersville, ON; Twin sister Audrey Fairfull (Jack) of Bobcaygeon, ON; wife, Anastatia (Andrews), of Wesleyville, NL (New-Wes-Valley), and many other dear family members, colleagues, and friends.

Leaving to mourn, son, Vaughan Underhay and daughter in law, Olga Hitchen of St. John’s; Daughter Kimberly Ann Underhay of St. John’s; beloved Grandson, Andrew Hitchen-Underhay and his wife, Elizabeth Drover; the furry family members who live with them; and a large circle of family, friends, our friends, neighbours and colleagues.

Born in St. John’s on Winter Avenue and raised in Heart’s Content, Howard moved to St. John’s at the early age of 18 and worked at Purity Factories. In order to advance his position in life and financially, Howard enrolled in a trades college in Ontario where he became a welder and fabricator. Returning to NL and after briefly working as a heavy equipment operator, he went to work with McNamara Industries whose fabrication facility was located in Paradise at Octagon Pond. Acan Windows was the last company to work out of their old renovated building before the site was sold, remediated, and developed in to a modern retail complex as it exists today. While working at McNamara, he ultimately advanced to a managerial position and was chief estimator and site superintendent for the company. Many of the buildings, structures, oil storage facilities, hospitals, schools, paper mills, marine terminals and retail shopping plazas we drive by every day were constructed by Howard Underhay and his work crews. The Health Sciences, Confederation Building Annex, Avalon Mall, Churchill Falls Hyde Plant, Memorial University library, are landmarks that my father was instrumental in building.

Howard and Anastatia adopted two children, Vaughan and Kimberly Ann, raised and taught them strong family values, and gave them a home full of love and affection. After he had retired, Howard and Statia welcomed grandson Andrew and extended the same love, attention, adoration, and taught him many of the values that shape the man he has become. We were all blessed for having both of them in our lives but Poppy, as he was known at home, was a very special man. Anyone that met him, or spent any time in his company, instantly recognized love and positive energy pouring from him. He genuinely loved people. He loved the outdoors. Fishing, rabbit hunting, cod jigging, or just a simple boil up by a stream; as long as it was with friends and family, it was all he ever needed. He was never one to want to draw attention to himself, was very humble, and soft spoken. I never heard him ever raise his voice to mother in my entire life of 60 years. He was devout church going man and an avid listener of VOWR.

He loved sports; golf, hockey, baseball, soccer, curling…and he could quote you all the names, stats, standings, probable pitchers, rookie leaders, and whoever was at the top of the leaderboard or whoever just went triple bogey and tumbled out of the lead. He had a brilliant mind. Could recall anything from any period in his life. Many of our family and friends were blown away after conversing with him as to just how bright he was. After he retired, many companies would come calling as his experience and knowledge was unequalled in his field.

He encouraged and involved us in anything we showed interest in, provided the means to do it, acquired whatever equipment necessary, and then cheered us in victory or defeat. It didn’t matter. What matters was he made the most of his time with all of us. In his later years, we took him travelling with us. He visited France, Spain, Italy; walked the streets of old Barcelona, raced through Naples in a cab, walked to the leaning tower of Pisa, attended the Cannes Film Festival, visited Mexico, cruised the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. He truly was a man of the world. He made a difference in everything he did and to everyone he met.

The family would like to thank some very special people. Reverend Ettie Gordon-Murray who is conducting the funeral service. His friends and home care workers, Samuel and Mahdine, and the staff of TLC Home Care who made his last 60 days as pleasant and comfortable as they could. You guys truly have angel wings! To Paul and Renee, Emma and Taylor, at Lanes and the management and staff for providing a good environment for dad’s respite care and enabling him to recover and return home. To the medical team and nursing staff at 4 South A of the Health Sciences. You enabled him to beat the immediate challenges he faced and helped him give us a little more time. For that we shall be ever grateful.

Visitation will take place at Carnell’s Funeral Home, 329 Freshwater Road, on Thursday, March 31 from 9 am -11 am and 12 pm – 2 pm. Funeral service from The Carnell Memorial Chapel immediately following at 2 pm. The service will be live streamed and the link to the service can be found above.

Those wishing to attend the visitation and/or service are asked to wear a mask and maintain safe sociable distance, avoiding contact where possible. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Association, Canadian Alzheimer’s Society, or Beagle Paws. Three charities that he supported and were dear to him.