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Deacon John Howell

Deacon John Howell

Deacon John Howell was born in Bennettsville, South Carolina, but moved to south central Alabama at the age of five where his father served as pastor for several rural Baptist churches.  After his father’s retirement the family moved to Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  John attended Okaloosa Technical Institute to study electronics and worked eight years for Vitro Services as an electronic technician.  He then worked for Sprint as a network technician for thirty-six years before retiring in 2004.

John met his wife Sheryl in 1970 and they were married in 1971.  They have three children and five grandchildren.  In 1978 John converted and came into full communion with the Catholic Church.  In 1987 John began studies for ordination to the permanent deaconate through Saint Leo College.  He was ordained a permanent deacon on June 6 1992.

Deacon Howell served the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in the ministries of Marriage Preparation and Deacon Formation.  He was the Liturgy Coordinator for his parish at Saint Mary in Fort Walton Beach.  In December 2005 Deacon John and Sheryl moved to Ocala so that John could become the official ‘nanny’ for his youngest granddaughter.  Deacon John serves Our Lady of the Springs as Stewardship Committee chairman, infant baptism preparation, ministry to the sick in the hospitals and nursing homes, communion services, wake services and wherever else the pastor may need him.