William "Bill" Howes

Memorial services for William J. “Bill” Howes, age 81, of Norfolk, Nebraska will be at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 111 South 9th Street in Norfolk. Reverend Peter Jark-Swain will officiate. 

Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the church. 

Home for Funerals in Norfolk is in charge of the arrangements.

Our dear friend Bill Howes passed away on Monday, March 30, 2026, at Bergan Mercy Hospital in Omaha after suffering a car accident several days earlier.  

Bill was born January 3, 1945, in North Platte, Nebraska. He graduated from North Platte High School in 1963 and went on to Chadron, Nebraska for college where he graduated in 1967. Bill was a schoolteacher for a few years and then his career changed to doing what Bill did best, helping people. 

In Norfolk, Bill served many years with Norfolk Fire and Rescue in the 1980s and 90s and stayed in tune with the operations of NFD until the very end. Bill regularly attended Norfolk Fire’s annual holiday gathering and always had a special spot in his heart for long time Medical Director and friend at NFD, Dr. G. Tom Surber.

While at NFD, Bill was part of the Norfolk Rural Team which was small but mighty. Bill had a passion for Emergency Medicine obtaining EMT-Advanced and later EMT-Intermediate certification. Bill had such a passion for Emergency Medicine and Instructing that he served on the Nebraska Statewide EMS Conference Committee for over 30 years. He will be missed by many in the Fire and EMS community. Being a part of the Fire Dept, EMS, and EMT community was very important to him and his dedication showed. He also worked in the Social Security office in Norfolk and as a social worker for the state of Nebraska until his retirement. 

One of the most favorite places that Bill loved and spent as much time as he could was at the Snake River Falls Ranch just south of Valentine, Nebraska. In the early years, he would go to the ranch and help the owners at that time, Les and Betty Kime, with anything that they needed or he could do. Les and Bill would drive around the ranch fixing fences or maybe a windmill and just tell stories of life in the west.  Many good times were had by them just being together.  He took great care of Les and Betty and their family and loved them very much. 

Bill also loved to go deer hunting. He would spend the whole summer watching for that big buck, and when deer season arrived, he would pack up all his gear and head to the ranch to be ready and get to his spot on the hill to watch for that buck. Bill never shot a deer just because he saw it. He was a thoughtful hunter, only taking what he needed and some years he didn’t even shoot his gun, and that was ok with him also.

Another favorite pastime was fishing in the Snake River that ran through the ranch. Fishing was his way of escaping the hectic life of work back in Norfolk. Throughout the years, Bill made many friends with neighboring ranches and would be invited to attend their spring brandings. He loved being able to help with loading the vaccine guns and keeping the controlled chaos in order. 

Whenever there was something he could do for others, he would be the first one there and never asked for anything in return. When the ranch was sold by the Kime family, a group of Sportsmen bought the property and Bill became the ranch manager and “go to” guy for them. He was a member of the group, and he knew that ranch better than anyone and knew how to take care of anything that came along. 

He was an asset to the ranch and to the members who relied on him to keep things running. Bill took great pride in being able to preserve some of the history and also keep up with the times. He had his camper parked at the headquarters and spent all his spare time there looking after what he loved as his own. After he retired from his main job in Norfolk, he spent even more time at the ranch doing what he loved, still having adventures, and still meeting people that came his way. 

At the end of a busy day, he would make himself a whiskey drink and be so content and happy about how he was spending his days. Bill was a giver, never a taker. So many people have crossed paths with him, and became instant friends, and some of us became family. We all have our memories of Bill and will never forget the special man who was always there just to help.

Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.homeforfuneralsinc.com.

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