Howard J. Frisbey, 89, fell asleep in death in the early hours of July 18, 2021, with his wife, Valeria, and his two loyal companions, Pebbles and BamBam, at his side.
Howard loved life and loved people; he endured much tragedy earlier in life, so he understood what was important: Living a simple life with those you love.
He was always more interested in hearing about you than talking about himself, but he took it to such an extreme that after a doctor appointment he would come out knowing more about the doctor’s children and pets than the doctor knew about his health.
When his friends called to check on him, he would immediately ask what was new in their world, asking for all the details and decline to say how he himself really was doing.
Howard put people at ease and had many friends. He made friends everywhere he went, he knew everybody, and everybody knew him. In his later years he always volunteered to do the errands, so he could go out in his minivan with his two Great Danes. If people didn’t know his name, they at least knew he was the guy with the two huge white dogs.
Howard was born in Chicago to Howard Frisbey, Sr., and Maylou Roberts Frisbey. He attended Chicago schools and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
He then married, moved to Cazenovia. He raised nine children who helped him with their varying age-appropriate abilities to run a dairy farm.
With so many children in public school he felt it was necessary to be on the school board and was elected president of the board. He was also a member of the Rotary Club.
Howard also loved animals, especially horses and dogs, and his kids had their own menagerie. His team of Clydesdales was a regular feature in the annual town parades.
His children grown, he married Ann Randall in 1982, started a new chapter in his life and they moved to Seminole, FL, to be near her mother, bought a fifth wheel RV and travelled the United States. He had done the responsible family thing for long enough and decided to branch out. At 70 he bought a Honda Goldwing Trike, and started attending motorcycle events, with Ann perched on the back, towing a trailer with their dog Fritz.
Wanting to reinvent his life once again, he and Ann relocated to NH to “get away from all the old folks in Florida” they built a custom log cabin on a river in the White Mountains, they sold the RV and trike and bought a VW van that they had painted with animals and scenery, to be a true “hippie van” and used it to travel around New England, making more new friends.
Once again, after Ann’s death, Howard took another turn, remarried, to Valeria Giordano, and started farming again, this time raising chickens and organic vegetables. More people to meet and learn about!
He is survived by seven children and several grandchildren, most notably Nancy Frisbey, John Frisbey, Wayne and Jason Jones and great-grandson Riiley Ohara. He is predeceased by his sons, Craig and Jay.
He will be missed by his lifelong friends Jerry and Ravi and his spiritual brother and sisters from the Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Meredith, NH, and of course, his wife and their dogs who brought him much joy.
A memorial service may be in the future. For more visit https://obits.csnh.com/howard-frisbey.
