Robert Bruce Howe

Howe, Robert Bruce, MD

Age 84 of Orono died of COVID-19 at The Trails of Orono on Saturday, November 14, 2020. Survived by loving wife of 59 years, Dr. Sondra (Wieland) Howe; children Deborah Howe (Dr. Kenneth Regan), Amherst NY, Dr. Philip Howe, Ypsilanti MI, and Stephen Howe (Michaela Harkins), Boston MA; grandchildren Alexander Regan, St. Louis Park MN and Rebecca Regan, Amherst NY. Predeceased by parents Francis and Esther (Dorow) Howe.

Born in Elgin IL on February 13, 1936, Bob moved to Little Falls NY in 1941. He graduated from Little Falls High School in 1954, Union College in Schenectady NY in 1958, and Harvard Medical School cum laude in 1962. He completed his residency in Medicine at the University of Minnesota, then entered the U.S. Public Health Service in 1967 as Assistant Clinical Director of the National Cancer Institute at the NIH. He returned to the Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School in 1970, served as Associate Dean of the Medical School 1992-2004, and retired in 2009 as Professor Emeritus. He did research at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden in the 1950s and on a sabbatical in 2002. Bob was active in many medical associations, Fellow of the International Society of Hematology, Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and President of the Minnesota Academy of Medicine. He received the Distinguished Service to Union College Award in 2005. Bob’s favorite activities included sailing, karate, travel, and listening to operas.

The family wishes to thank the staff at The Trails of Orono and Fairview Hospice for their compassionate care. A funeral service for the immediate family will take place on Tuesday, November 24, 11:00 AM at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth. The service can be watched live and as an archived event at spdlc.org/livestream. Interment at Lakewood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Minnesota Orchestra or a charity of your choice.

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