Howard has now ridden into the sunset one last time!

Howard passed away in Red Deer Hospital after suffering a stroke. He leaves behind two daughters, Susan (Ken) Panylyk and Janice (Randy) Koberstein as well as two granddaughters, Carlee Panylyk and Christy (Alex) Ayles and two amazing great grandchildren, Carson and Kallie Ayles.

He was predeceased by his loving wife Kathy (Driega) and his beautiful daughter Kelly Lynn.

No service will be held for Howard as per his wishes and his ashes will be laid next to Kathy’s in the Hinton Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider instead a donation to the Cadomin Royal Canadian Legion, where Howard was a longstanding member.

 Howard, the youngest of eight children, was born in Mountain Park on October 19, 1934. He spent his early years in the Coal Branch until the family moved to Edson in 1940.  Bill, Howard’s dad, was employed as a handyman for the town and as the arena caretaker in the winter months.  Shortly after arriving in Edson, a house fire left the entire Shirey family, comprised of two adults and eight children with nothing much more than the clothes on their backs. The entire family spent the next six months living in the arena dressing room. In 1943, the family moved to Mercoal as Bill found work taking care of the power boilers of the coal mine then later the head lamp man until his retirement.

Howard completed grade 9 and then took a job at the Mercoal mine packing timbers, lying about being over 16 years of age, the age requirement. He worked at the same mine as his Dad for five years then went onto Gunner ore mines in 1955. While up in northern Alberta he took his 1^st job out of the mines hauling fuel for Esso to several mine sites. The trucking career he would eventually return to years later.

He returned to the Coal Branch working alongside his future father-in-law, Bill Driega, in the Mercoal mines. Howard knew Kathy from his earlier school years and proceeded to court his future wife. When Kathy took a nursing job in the Crowsnest Pass, Howard followed and worked for Fred Mannick in the Blairmore/Coleman mines. He went on to work in the oil patch up North as a roughneck until 1956 when he married Kathy Driega. They lived in Mercoal and Howard bought Branch Lines Ltd. In 1960 they purchased the home Kathy grew up in in Cadomin and Susan, their 1^st daughter was born in 1957, Kelly in 1963 followed by Janice in 1967. Kelly passed away in 1980.

Howard and Kathy moved to Hinton in 1973 where he was employed at the pulp mill and Kathy at the Hinton hospital. Howard worked at the mill for 19 years and despite not having more than a grade 9 education, astounded many of his formally trained colleague with his road building skills. His estimates of hill grades, through no more than eye-balling, proved to be consistent with computer calculations.

He left the mill in 1992 and returned to his driving roots. He took a job with Diversified driving mine buses with the occasional summer touring bus trips the company was involved in. He worked there for five years before retiring at the age of 62.

Howard and Kathy spent a lot of their time camping and fishing. They loved their big camp fires shared with friends. They purchased a lot in Apache Junction AZ in 1984 and made the long trip back and forth many years while working and then when retired. Kathy passed away in 2003 and Howard continued to spend his winters in AZ until 2018 when his health deteriorated.

Motorbikes were Howard’s biggest passion and he managed to wear out five bikes/trikes travelling the roads throughout AZ. There are not many roads in AZ that Howard has not travelled on in his 34 years. He had an uncanny ability to not only remember exactly which turn to take, but also what land mark was at that turn. He had his own built in GPS! Kathy also enjoyed riding and later Ruth Griffiths, his best friend after Kathy passed, joined him for his rides. Howard had a close-knit riding group that had regular 2X/week rides scheduled. In between those rides he would ride up to Sedona (2 ½ hrs. one way) for French onion soup or ride to Algondones Mexico (3 ½ hrs. one way) for a haircut and a bottle of rum.

Howard moved from Hinton in 2006 to Glennifer Lake and later in 2016 to a condo in Bentley to be closer to his companion, Ruth. The small town living of Bentley suited Howard with his neighbors all looking out for him. The large extended family of Ruth was also a blessing as he spent much time enjoying visiting the farm and helping out where he could although he always seemed to have a “supervisory” role. His favorite place in town was by far the local bar/restaurant – The Monkey Top. Wing night was a must when visiting Howard.

Howard continued riding during the summer months in the Bentley area and last year at the age of 85 still managed to put on over 8,000 km with the help of his friend and neighbor Dwight. With a little push and shove, Dwight was able to push his arthritic leg up and, on the trike, – where there’s a will there’s a way! All of this with his Dr.’s blessing, “Ride all you can Howard and enjoy”.

Big Irish, as he was known was and will continue to be a legend both in the Coal Branch and with all the people who knew him. Despite toning it down a few notches in the last few years he was always the memorable, no nonsense guy who spoke up for what he believed. You always knew where you stood with him, in no uncertain terms.

Consistent with Howard’s riding passion, he believed “it’s not what you have or own in your life journey, it’s the ride and the people you meet along the way!  Howard has now road into the sunset…

Howard was predeceased by all his siblings except Carrie Manning. He leaves behind Susan (Ken) Panylyk; Janice (Randy) Koberstein; his two granddaughters, Carlee Panylyk and Christy (Alex) Ayles; and two amazing great grandchildren Carson and Kallie.

• Date : 2020-12-30
• Location : Red Deer Funeral Home