Howard Michael

Rosary and Funeral Mass will be held on Friday-October 15, 2021-9:30 AM at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church. Burial will be held later on Private Family Land.



Howard E. "Howie" Michael passed away peacefully on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021 in Albuquerque, N.M. with his two children by his side. He was 50 years old.



Howie Michael is remembered by his family and friends as a devoted father, proud grandfather, loyal son and loving sibling.



He was born on Dec. 21, 1970 in Grants, N.M. He graduated from Grants High School in 1989. He attended New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1995. Howie spent his college summer breaks in Winnemucca, Nevada working to pay some of his college expenses.



After college, he returned to Grants where he started his family and began his business career, which became centered on ranching and real estate.



Howie cherished his family, and its deep roots in the Grants area. He also had an ability to develop close, enduring friendships.



He was known for drawing his family together through phone calls and the sharing of old family photos. Those photos recorded moments with his granddaughter, his son and daughter, ranching, his father's service during WWII and gatherings with the extended Michael family.



"I want my dad to be remembered for his loving and caring nature for his family and friends," Katelyn Michael said. "He had a passion for being a cattle rancher. Before he got sick, he was at the ranch more than he was at home. He loved that place."



At the end of his life, the fullness of Howie's friendships was clear. His closest friends rallied to do whatever they could to lift Howie's spirits.



Howie's passion for ranching and hunting was formed in his youth during MS Ranch brandings. He spent the past two decades ranching in the Ramah, N.M. area. He often shared pictures of his black cows, barbed-wire fence lines and peaceful pasture sunsets.



Howie built a business in Grants as a real estate broker at Coldwell Banker Legacy. He developed a reputation as being an honest businessman, who worked hard to find buyers specific properties or to close important deals for sellers.



In all aspects of his life, Howie tried his best to be remembered as good man. He was kind to others, carried his crosses, advocated for what he believed was best for our country and stayed connected with people who touched his life.



In his final days, Howie spent time with a priest and a hospice chaplain. The chaplain asked, what do you prayed for? Howie, in his greatest hours of need, answered, he prayed for others. Howie was hopeful for a recovery, but left his fate to the will of his God.



Howie maintained his charm and wit to the end. He joked about his sister's strength when she helped him sit at the kitchen table, he poked fun at the Dallas Cowboys and joked about how his beloved bird dog, Buck, welcomed the neighborhood birds to eat his dog food.



He knew that his humor put his caregivers, his children and siblings, at ease if only for a brief moment.



Howie was preceded in death by his parents, Merhage "Junior" and Annie Michael.



He enjoyed the love and support for his children, Katelyn Michael, and Gaven Michael, both of Grants; his granddaughter, Kodee Doreen Michael; his siblings, Henry Michael of Grants, Janice Milroy and her husband Richard, of Henderson, Nevada; Nina Michael of Las Cruces, Patrick Michael and his wife Cindy of Winnemucca, Nevada and Carla Archuleta and her husband Tim of Las Cruces. He is survived by nine nieces and three nephews.



He leaves behind three ranch dogs, horses and a herd of cattle.



Pallbearers include: David Taylor, Shaun Taylor, Steve Gonzales, James Gonzales, Gaven Michael and Adrian Garcia. Honorary pallbearers include: Timothy J.M. Archuleta, Tim Archuleta, Stanley Michael and Joey Michael.