CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL - He loved jazz, playing pool, spending time with friends and hiking in the Black Hills. James Howe, 54, is off on another journey. A celebration of his life will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, at Crazy Horse Memorial. He died Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009, at Rose Medical Center in Denver after a lengthy illness. He was born Jan. 29, 1955, at Amityville, N.Y., to Gerald James Howe and Dorothy Lois (Johnson) Howe. He grew up and lived in New Jersey until the Black Hills captured him during a vacation. James married Monique Ziolkowski on Oct. 13, 2002, in a ceremony at Crazy Horse. A member of the visitor services staff, he particularly enjoyed tending to the flowers and plants for the memorial's grounds and mountain carving viewing deck. He was a very meticulous and well-organized worker. If you are truly blessed you have a friend like James. He could make the good times better and the bad times seem not so bad. Grateful for what he brought to their lives are his wife, Monique Ziolkowski-Howe and stepdaughter, Heidi Ziolkowski, of Crazy Horse; his sister Carol Koons and her husband, Terry, Chambersburg, Pa; two nieces, Lori Ann (Mrs. Ryan) Riley, Leesburg, Va., and Tricia (Mrs. Mark) Maciejewski, Chambersburg; two great-nephews, Maxwell Riley and Brady Maciejewski; one aunt, Mae (Mrs. Bernard) Green; numerous cousins; and many friends at Crazy Horse, Custer, and on the East Coast, notably including Cooper "Coop" John Joseph. James was preceded in death by his parents, Gerald and Dorothy Howe; his paternal grandparents, James and Anne Svihowe; his maternal grandparents, Andrew and Mathilda Johnson; and 10 aunts and uncles. Scholarship memorial funds in his name will be established for students studying jazz and horticulture. Contributions may be sent to: Monique Ziolkowski-Howe, in care of Crazy Horse Memorial, 12151 Avenue of the Chiefs, Crazy Horse, S.D. 57730-8900.