Date of Birth:
Friday, July 22, 1938
Date of Death:
Sunday, April 6, 2025
Age:
86 years old

Howard Pike Eggenberger

Howard Pike Eggenberger (1938-2025)

Howard P. Eggenberger, 86 years young, of Rochester, MN, passed away on April 6, 2025.

Howard was born in Normal, IL, on July 22, 1938 to Delbert Norgard and Lucretia Hazel Eggenberger.  As a child, he and his two siblings – older sister Beverly and younger brother Steven – split time between helping out on their grandfather’s farm in Normal and living on the south side of Chicago.  One of his first jobs was to collect eggs which he would sell to his teachers.  It was in Chicago that he developed his love for good food and classical music, even briefly working as an usher for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Young Howard was an information sponge, reading and re-reading his father’s university level textbooks on physics, electricity, and all things mechanical.

After graduating high school, Howard worked various jobs until he enlisted in the Marines, excelling in rifles and electronics.  In 1964, Howard accepted a job at IBM, fixing enormous mainframe computers wearing a black suit and tie (and, on occasion, a top hat).  IBM brought Howard and family from Elmhurst, IL to Rochester, MN, in 1992.  Decades later he retired from IBM and then went on to work for Lakeview Technology.

After his enlistment, a young woman from his mother’s hometown caught his eye.  Howard pursued her for two years – sending her roses many times from Illinois to her home in Kentucky where she shared them with her congregation.  In 1963 he finally convinced Lera Faye McMahan to take his hand in marriage.  They’ve been happily married ever since.

In 1973, Howard and Faye started their family by adopting their daughter, Sharon (1973).  They later had Michael (1979), Gregory (1984), and Ashley (1987).  The family often crammed into the car for trips to visit family in Illinois, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Maine, and more.  Howard and Faye have eight grandchildren in all.

Throughout his life, Howard was a tinkerer, handyman, reader, and jokester.  As a tinkerer, he collected and worked on an assortment of antique cars and model trains.  As a handyman he was always improving his family’s home by building decks, installing floors and sunlights, and donating his time and skills to help others with their own projects.  As a reader, he collected and read thousands of books and magazines, particularly about cars, the Civil War, and WWII.  As a jokester, he scoured the Earth for the most ridiculous dad jokes imaginable.  No matter the season, Howard always had a joke ready to lighten the mood, even if you’d already heard it from him before.

Most importantly, Howard loved God, was a dedicated Christian, and a member of Autumn Ridge Church since 1992.  Howard was a regular in the church’s nursery, where his patience, deep voice, and long stories worked their magic to put fussy babies to sleep for over 30 years.  During his time at Autumn Ridge, he cared for and comforted hundreds of infants.  During his younger days in Illinois, he sang bass in the church choir and played handbells.

Howard will always be remembered for his generosity and sense of humor.  We’ll always imagine hearing him say “tender as could be” when cutting into a good steak and seeing the twitch at the corner of his mouth when he asks “you’ve heard the one about the” while setting up a joke.  He was a loving husband, providing father, servant of God.  He will be missed dearly, but his memory will live on in the hearts of those he touched.

Howard was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his wife (Faye), his children (Sharon, Michael, Gregory, and Ashley), his sister Beverly and her husband and three children, and his brother Steven and his three children.