Howard Clyde Mertink

On Monday September 26, 2022, Howard Clyde Mertink passed peacefully in his home surrounded by family. He was 61. He was always a “family- first” man and made it his life’s devotion to provide love and care for his wife Becky and two sons Matthew and Thomas.

Howard was born in Georgetown, Texas, on September 6, 1961, the youngest of eight children. He attended Zion Lutheran School in Walburg, where he built close ties with many friends in the Walburg community. He often told stories of playing flag football and being part of the annual Christmas program at Zion Lutheran Church. He attended Jarrell High School where he met his future wife Becky. He was a fullback and linebacker on the football team, played basketball and was a pitcher on the baseball team. While dating Becky, he began farming with his future father-in-law, working land in the Corn Hill area. He appreciated watching things grow, whether it was crops in the field, his garden or his relationships with family and friends. He enjoyed plowing and cultivating the land and operating the combine.

Soon after graduation, Howard turned his passion for carpentry into a career of over 25 years at CSS General Contractors in Gatesville, Texas. He built some of his closest relationships and continued to carry those with him after the business closed in the early 2010’s. Afterwards, he was offered the opportunity to finish his career working with his oldest son Matt at Al Clawson Disposal, where he worked until a couple of months before his passing. In his later years, he turned his attention to woodworking and spent many afternoons in his shop inlaying crosses into oak and cedar from local farms and ranches. Howard was a devoted Christian, raised in the Lutheran faith, before converting to Catholicism after marrying Becky in August of 1983. It was in the church that he developed his love for music, listening to the harmonies sung at Zion Lutheran Church. He took those skills with him to Holy Trinity Catholic Church where he sang in the choir for Easter and Christmas masses. He enjoyed playing guitar and loved “cross-picking” his favorite bluegrass tunes. He passed his love of music on to his son Thomas and they spent many Friday nights and Sunday afternoons playing together. Howard always had a passion for the outdoors spending countless days on the water searching for the “honey hole” and cold winter mornings in his deer stand watching the world come to life with the dawn of the day. He loved spending evenings around the campfire with family and friends singing old country songs. He was a proud member of the Jarrell Bass Club and treasured the thrill of tournament fishing with his son Matt on the lakes of Central Texas always chasing the “Big Bass” to take him to the top of the leaderboard.

Howard would never hesitate to say that his greatest achievement in life was building a home and family with his loving wife Becky who he cherished with all of his heart. Their bond provided an example for how to build a family to their two sons and everyone who saw them together. Four months before his passing, he had the joy of meeting his first grandchild Elaina, and while his time as “Pa” was short, nothing could brighten his day as much as his little “Sunshine.” Howard is preceded in death by his parents Clarence and Tusnelda Mertink, brothers in law Willie Kubala, Bill Wildenstein and Paul David Hustead, and nieces Jacquelyn Kubala and Robin Proctor. He is survived by his loving wife Becky of 39 wonderful years and his two sons Matthew (wife Amy) of Jarrell and Thomas of McKinney as well as his granddaughter Elaina Mertink. He is survived by siblings Clarice Thompson (Al), Mary Kubala, Joyce Manning, Ruth Wildenstein, David Mertink (Sylvia), Dorine Otteson (David), Doris Mertink and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation and Rosary will be held at The Gabriels Funeral Chapel and Crematory in Georgetown October 2, from 5-7 p.m., Rosary at 6 p.m. Funeral service and burial will be at Holy Trinity Catholic Church of Corn Hill, Texas on October 3, 2022 at 10 a.m.

gabrielsfuneral.com