"Howie" was born October 30, 1954, in Akron, Ohio, to Josephine and Stanley Hammeren.  He bravely faced his long battle with cancer and passed peacefully at home on May 11, 2025.

In March 1958, the Hammeren family of seven loaded up the station wagon, left Ohio, and journeyed across the country to begin their new life in California.  As a young boy, when there was mischief to be made, Howard was usually in the middle of it.  He was known to dabble with fireworks and devised a way to blow up a paper kite mid-air to the delight and cheers of the neighborhood kids.

He attended schools in Lompoc, graduated from LHS in 1972, and finished his education at Cal Poly SLO, where he earned a BA in Environmental Engineering.   His work with Bechtel Corp took him to Utah, where he bought a house, discovered skiing, and was a regular on the ski slopes.  He circled back to California, where he worked on remediation projects at various military bases and, along the way, fell in love with the City by the Bay.  He lived in Marin County, where he traded skiing for mountain biking.  He traveled to work on the daily Bay Ferry to downtown San Francisco.  Live music at the local Irish pubs and attending SF Giants baseball games were some of his favorite pastimes.

He finished his career in Santa Barbara with SBC Air Pollution Control District and after retirement returned to San Francisco.

Howard never married, but over the years enjoyed many family adventures with his sisters and their families.  He was a favorite uncle to his nieces and nephews and developed lasting friendships with his cadre of friends in the Bay Area.

If you knew Howard, you enjoyed his wry sense of humor.  A roommate at his final hospital stay asked him,  "How long are you here for?"  Howard replied, "Til death do us part."

Howard is survived  by his sisters Mary (Don), Marlene (Alan), Patty (Charles), and Polly (Sean).  Godspeed Howard.  You are forever in our hearts.

Howard's request was that there be no formal service.  His family will gather at a later date to spread his ashes, reminisce, and celebrate his life.