Margarite L. Howard “Maggie” 78, wife of the late Earl L. Howard Jr., died on Monday, October 16, 2017 after a long illness. Born in Cheshire on January 19, 1939, she was the daughter of the late Richard Gamble and Eugenia Kiener. She had attended Cheshire High School before moving to Meriden where she worked in retail at Stars, Daniels and the Youth Center in Meriden. Margarite was a parishioner of Holy Angels. She was the vice president of Hanover PTA and a Girl Scout Leader. She was the past Matron of the Order of the Easter Star and active with the Rainbow Girls and the White Shrine of Jerusalem. Margarite enjoyed New England, especially visiting fairs and travelling to Maine for lobster. She liked playing games on her computer and chatting with her many online friends on Facebook. She is survived by her two sons, Jeffrey Howard and Earl Howard III and his wife Jackie; two daughters, Mary Lu Lane and her husband Bill and Janice Fongemie and her husband Eldon; three grandchildren, Dennis St. Pierre and his wife Maggie, David St. Pierre and his wife Michelle and Steven Howard; and two great grandchildren, Dagon and Lilith St. Pierre. She is also survived by a sister Helen Lawrence. She was predeceased by her sister, Mary Ann Stebins and her three brothers, Richard Gamble, John Gamble and Eugene Gamble. Family and friends are invited to attend a funeral service to be held on Friday, October 20, 2017 at 10 a.m. at the John J. Ferry & Sons Funeral Home, 88 East Main St., Meriden, CT 06450. Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery. Family and friends may call at the funeral home on Thursday, October 19, 2017 from 4 to 7 p.m. Should friends desire, contributions in her memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.