In loving memory of Howard R. Jenkins - Obituary Baldwin Brothers

Obituary

Howard R. Jenkins His family sadly announces the death of Mr. Howard R. Jenkins, 84, of Dunnellon, Florida. Howard was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Gladys Elizabeth Whitney Jenkins and her husband Norman W. Jenkins (both deceased), and is a grandson of Christopher and Mary Ellen Williams Jenkins of Wales and Scranton and John and Mamie Rees Whitney of Scranton. Howard had a colorful and varied employment history throughout his life, being inclined to entrepreneurship. After a brief stint in the US Army Air Force in WWII, he worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania and for Western Union as a telegrapher. He ran a New Jersey sundries and ice cream shop and, later, a Miami bookkeeping service. He also ran the Florida exhibit at the 1964 New York World’s Fair for Wometco Enterprises and the Miami Seaquarium. He loved the warm Florida weather, and by the early 1960s he had “transplanted” permanently. He became self-employed again in the 1970s, operating a series of successful businesses including a concrete pumping business, a children’s daycare center, a ceiling-fan store, an auto parts franchise, and a video-rental store. He was unintimidated by new ventures, studying a thing from many angles to gain perspective, and then boldly jumping in with both feet. He “retired” as a clock-repair craftsman after operating a sales and repair shop in Ocala, FL for nearly 20 years, a business he continued into his eighties from his home. Howard was a Mason, and a perpetual life member of the Masons in Florida, following in the footsteps of his father, a Past Master of the Hyde Park Chapter in Scranton. He was a member of the Miami Temple and the Coral Gables lodge in the 1960s and 1970’s when he lived in that area. He loved boating and enjoyed his membership in the Miami-Dade Power Squadron, and in his later years he held a membership in the International Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. He was creative and mechanically inclined, and was innately curious, a combination highlighted in the stained-glass art, welding sculptures, and digital photography that he learned over the years. Howard is survived by his wife of 48 years, Gael, and their daughter Georgia, of Daytona Beach, as well as by his niece Jill Clutter and nephew Scott Jenkins, both of Texas. He is predeceased by his parents and elder brother Norman and wife Lois. His family would like to thank Hospice of Marion County, especially the Crisis Care Team members, for the professional and compassionate care they provided the family and Howard. A memorial service may be held at a future date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a donation to Hospice or a favorite charity.