Burbank minister known for humor, humanity dies

Jackson Bell

Those who knew Stan Howse will never forget his sense of humor from

the pulpit or his openness with parishioners.

Howse, a popular minister at Unity Church of Burbank & North

Hollywood, died Sept. 19 at the Veterans Administration Medical

Center in West Los Angeles following a heart attack, family members

said. He was 63.

“He was the gentlest, kindest, most loving man I ever met,” his

wife, Annemarie, said Monday. “He always encouraged people to live

their dreams and always saw the best in people. He was quite a man --

one in a million.”

Howse joined Unity Church of Burbank & North Hollywood in 1999.

Along the way, he opened his church to several community

organizations, including Alcoholics Anonymous and the spirituality

study program, A Course in Miracles. He was a regular contributor to

the Leader’s Community Forum pages.

Howse, a recovering alcoholic who got sober in 1976, often

discussed his own experiences in a candid and often funny way,

friends said.

“I grew up in a church where self-disclosure from church leaders

was frowned upon,” said Christine Johnson, a parishioner. “By sharing

his own personal challenges, Rev. Stan allowed me and others to

engage and bond with him. He found the humor in situations. He always

had us laughing and seeing the joy in life.”

Howse was born Oct. 16, 1939, in Temple, Texas. He served for 11

years in the U.S. Air Force, where he researched space projects

preceding the Apollo program. A former restaurant owner and

advertising salesman, Howse was ordained in 1992, and was a minister

at several churches in Texas before relocating to Burbank.

With his first wife, Rosemary, Howse founded Unity Church of Clear

Lake [Texas] in 1988. Rosemary Howse died of cancer in 1998. He is

survived by his wife of five years, Annemarie; six children; four

stepchildren; 18 grandchildren; and two brothers.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Unity Church

of Burbank & North Hollywood. In lieu of flowers, donations can be

made in his memory to the church, 637 S. Victory Blvd., Burbank, CA

91502.