N. Bruce Howe Jr., 95, lifelong resident of Winona Lake and Warsaw, died peacefully at his home at 12:15 a.m. Oct. 9, 2015, with his wife and daughter by his side.

“Angels” as he was known to many was born to Newton Bruce and Helen Howe on Sept. 12, 1920.

He married Ann (Ellis) Howe on April 20, 1974, in Plymouth and resided at “Dream Lake.”

Bruce was a graduate of Warsaw High School and later attended Manchester College. He served in the Army from June 3, 1943 through Nov. 20, 1945. He was in the European Theater of Operations where he served at Normandy (Battle of the Bulge), Northern France, Rhineland, Central Europe, and the Ardennes. He received the FAME Ribbon w/5 Bronze Stars, American Theater Ribbon, Good Conduct Ribbon and Victory Award. Bruce’s rank at the end of his service was 1st Sgt.

After celebrating his 95th birthday on Sept. 12, 2015, the Salvation Army’s Ken Locke accompanied Bruce to the Freedom Honor Flight to Washington D.C. to see the war memorials. After the war, Bruce began working at Rodeheaver in Winona Lake later Rodeheaver Word Music, Inc. for 50 years. As vice president he was responsible for working with copyrights. He worked with many notable recording artists such as Anita Bryant, Elvis Presley and B.J. Thomas in the Gospel music genre.

He had a lifelong passion for community service, starting with Winona Lake Fire Department. He served from 1938-2015 and was Fire Chief for over 20 years. During his years of service, one of the highlights was saving the lives of two young boys; Dale and Jay Benson on April 28, 1956.

Bruce’s altruistic endeavors didn’t end there. Throughout his 95 years, Bruce was involved in many charitable causes and awarded numerous awards. “Angels” was a regular and “Charter Member” of Breading’s Cigar Store where he was awarded “Man of the Year.” Some other service organizations Bruce was involved with were the “Shriners Hospital for Children, the Rodeheaver Boys Ranch in Palatka, Fla., the Salvation Army where he spear headed the Rotary Club’s fundraising program, helping to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity. He was president of Rotary from 1959-1960.

Some of the numerous awards he received were: ” Warsaw Man of the Year” 1986 and again in 1995, “Sagamore of the Wabash” 2003, “Order of the Kosciuszko” 2014, “Lifetime Achievement Award from Rodeheaver Boys Ranch” 2015, “William Booth Award of Salvation Army” 1999, Winona Lake Fireman of the Year” 1964, and “Bill Reneker Memorial Award” 2010.

Bruce and Ann entertained 1,000’s of people with their Christmas light display at Dream Lake before donating much of the display to the City of Warsaw.

Bruce was an avid golfer, bowler, fisherman, and softball player throughout his life.

Surviving Bruce, “Angels” are his loving wife Ann (Ellis) Howe, son: Greg (Sydney) Ellis; daughters: Debbie (Barry) DeMuth, Lindy (Bruce) Waldman, and Cindy (Tony) Aliteri; his sister: Helen Claire LeCount; grandchildren Sara Ellis (Jimmy) Bauman, Katy Ellis (Brandon)Hilts, Chase Aliteri, Abigail Waldman, Hannah Waldman; great-granddaughter: Emma Love Bauman; nephews: Chuck and Bruce Kiesling, and Jim, Jerry, John, and Jeff LeCount survive him.

Brothers Bo and Bobby Howe, and sister Kate Kiesling preceded him in death.

Visitation will be held from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13 at McHatton-Sadler Funeral Chapel, Warsaw. Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2015 at McHatton-Sadler Chapel, Warsaw with Ken Lock and Rev. Corinne Hodges officiating. Burial to follow and Oakwood Cemetery with military honors by Warsaw American Legion Post No. 49, V.F.W. Post 1126 and the Indiana A.R.N.G.

The family kindly requests memorials to: Salvation Army, 501 E. Arthur St. Warsaw, IN 46580; Shriners Hospital for Children 2211 N. Oak Park Ave Chicago, IL 60707; and Rodeheaver Boys Ranch, 380 Boys Ranch Road Palatka, FL 32177

Electronic condolences may be sent to www.mchattonsadlerfuneralchapels.com