VFW honors Howard Bigelow

SAGLE — Howard James Bigelow was as much a fixture at the Sandpoint VFW post as its furniture and appliances.

"He was always there," said post director Larry Pedersen.

Howard died last January, roughly six months after he entered retirement to tackle home and other projects that had remained on the back burner while he helped veterans connect with the services and the help they needed when they found themselves in a tight spot.

"It left a big hole when he passed," Pedersen said.

The post is paying homage to Howard by naming the building after him and is installing a plaque where he spent a great deal of time offering counsel and helping veterans.

The Pennsylvania native enlisted in the U.S. Navy upon graduating high school in 1964. Howard's wife of 50 years, Joan, said he resolved to enter service with a close friend who joined the U.S. Marine Corps because they figured they would be drafted anyway.

Howard drew orders twice to serve in Vietnam, but the death of his adoptive father and the Navy's change of plans saw him stationed Puerto Rico.

"He was diverted from Vietnam," Joan Bigelow said. "He felt kind of bad that he did not serve in Vietnam like those other boys did."

Howard channeled some of that grief to making sure Vietnam veterans received help and services when they needed it after he retired to Sagle.

"He took it upon himself to be at the hall for counseling," Joan Bigelow said.

Howard went on to become a veteran services officer at the VFW and became adept in helping a vet find the right resources not just to help them out of a jam, but to get them back on their feet and help them attain long-term stability.

"He was very good at being the middle man," Joan Bigelow said.

Outside of the post, Howard was a dedicated family man who loved to hunt, watch wildlife, bowl and help his neighbors. He was also a bit of a wind-up artist who liked to rib others who served in other branches of the military and liked cracking wise when the opportunity presented itself.

"It's a dry humor, but it's a quick humor," said Joan Bigelow.

Howard was also fond of working in their apple orchard, in addition to making cider and beef jerky.

"It was just the thoughtful things he did," Joan Bigelow added.

Joan Bigelow recalled their daughter lamenting the lack of television reception at their home, which prompted her husband to take action by going outside with the antenna to try and improve the situation.

"There he is out there standing like antenna, asking 'Is this better?'" Joan Bigelow recalls.

Howard was also colorblind when it came to ethnicity or racial background, and if someone told him something in confidence Howard Bigelow would honor it.

"He could be trusted. It was like HIPPA," Joan Bigelow said.

Howard also worked with law enforcement on dealing with veterans in the throes of a post-traumatic stress disorder episode and would even help family members in finding veterans who had gone off the grid.

"He was a very kind, very caring person," said Joan Bigelow.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com or followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.