Edward Watson Howden

October 12,1918 - August 10, 2018

Edward “Ed” Howden, was a 99 year-old tireless warrior for social justice.

He and his two sisters, Elizabeth (Betty) and Jean were born and raised in Oakland, California, the children of Robert Howden Jr. and Grace Brady Howden. As children of the Great Depression, they did not enjoy many economic advantages and instead spent their family vacations exploring California’s great outdoors, regularly camping in the Sierra and particularly Yosemite Valley. These experiences engendered Ed’s lifelong love of the High Sierra.

Ed was the first member of his family to attend college, graduating from Cal in 1940. He financed his education by working three summers as a lumberjack in the Oregon woods, felling trees with his double bitted axe and two man crosscut saw. He also spent one summer working for Alaska Packers during the salmon season in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

In 1942 he enlisted in the Army Reserve. Upon his discharge in 1946, he embarked on his lifelong fight for equal rights and social justice. He became the Executive Director of the Council of Civic Unity in San Francisco, a grass roots human rights organization pressing for equal opportunity in all walks of life, particularly housing and employment. He also took his fight to the airwaves, hosting his radio program “Dateline Freedom” on KCBS, and his television program “Barrier” on KRON. It was during this phase of his career that he played a key role assisting the newly arrived San Francisco Giant, Willie Mays, in buying the house of his choice despite the discriminatory efforts of angry local homeowners.

In 1958, he became the Executive Director of the Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity for San Francisco, administering the State’s first fair employment law. He left that post in 1959 to become the first Executive Officer of the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC), newly created by Governor Edmund (Pat) Brown to enforce fair housing and equal employment at the state level.

In 1967 he was fired from that position by the newly elected Governor Ronald Reagan. He then became the first regional Director of the Community Relations Service (CRS), a little-known branch of the United States Department of Justice, created as part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. That agency fought to resolve racial and ethnic based conflicts, often involving community groups and police agencies, schools, real estate developers and local government agencies. One of the many highlights of his work was his repeated and lengthy tours of duty at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, during the protracted armed standoff between the American Indian Movement (AIM) and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in 1973. Ed and other members of the CRS travelled between the lines of the opposing factions in an effort to maintain open lines of communication and to reduce the level of tension and violence. Ed remained with CRS until he retired in 1986.

In large part due to his experiences in the mountains and Oregon woods, Ed purchased a ten-acre tract of forest on the Mendocino Coast and eventually built a log cabin there, using timber harvested on the property. Among its many intriguing features was an outdoor shower built inside of the burned-out stump of an old growth Redwood tree. His log cabin will endure as a part of his legacy.

Among Ed’s many accomplishments, his greatest came during his retirement. His beloved wife Anne’s health began to decline in her late 80s and Ed devoted all his time during her remaining years to selflessly and lovingly caring for her and ensuring that she enjoyed a full and satisfying life while remaining in her own house. For the first time, he helped her shopping for groceries, cooking and cleaning. He also transported her to her to her many medical and other appointments. Through his tireless efforts Anne avoided even a single day of institutional living. She passed away at the age of 92 after a living a full and rewarding life.

One of the problems with living to nearly 100 is that most of one’s friends, family and colleagues, who otherwise could help celebrate one’s life, die before you do. So it is with Ed. A few of the many colleagues and fellow fighters for social change who will not be able help celebrate Ed’s life, but who fought the good fight with him, include Earl Raab, Bill Becker, Orville Luster, Aileen Hernandez, Yori Wada, Dick Goldsmith, Frank Quinn and Mel Wax.

Ed is survived by his son, Jonathan Howden, his wife Linda Moore and their two children, Gabriel and Madeline; his oldest son, Michael Howden, his wife Debbie Perry and their son Adam; nephews Randy Goetzl and his wife, Sharon; Charles Goetzl and his spouse, Eric; and his niece, Karen Ebihara Sodini, and her two sons, Rick and Dan.

A memorial service is pending.