blank
From when he was a boy living on the Fort Thompson Indian Reservation in South Dakota to when he was an aspiring actor later in life, the Redlands resident stayed true to where he came from.
"He was very proud of his roots," said his wife, Debra. "He had a box filled with all kinds of artifacts from when his grandparents and great- grandparents lived on the reservation."
After a lengthy fight with cancer, Howe died April 24 at his home. He was 61.
Howe was born Feb. 26, 1947, in Milwaukee to Guy and Mildred Howe.
He was born so fast that his father wanted to name him Comes A Flying. But the infant's mother disagreed, and his name became Swifteagle.
When Howe was young, his father left the family. Howe was raised by his mother in Encinitas, where he spent his childhood surfing and working.
"He had to take on a lot of responsibilities early on, including having a newspaper route," his wife said.
After graduating from high school in Encinitas, Howe enlisted in the Army and was sent to Vietnam. From 1966 to 1969, Howe served as an airborne ranger.
He lost friends during the war, but did not dwell much on the horrors. Mostly, he was happy to serve his country, his wife said.
The most difficult situation that
he dealt with at the time may have been being greeted by war protesters when he got off the plane in the United States after serving in Vietnam.
"He was a fighter through and through, so he was disturbed by that," his wife said.
After his military service, he worked for a time as a heavy-equipment mechanic for International Harvester. But mostly he held different jobs in the entertainment field.
Howe was a disc jockey for a country music radio station and then a light-rock station in San Diego. He did voiceover work for television game shows and was an extra in the movies.
"Back then there was an issue with the hiring of non-Native Americans in the movies," his wife said. "So at that time he signed up for the American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts."
As a young man, he modeled for Stan Davis, an artist who hired aspiring American Indians actors as models.
He met his first wife when they were members of the registry. The marriage did not last.
Howe eventually got into the construction field and worked his way up to superintendent and project manager in La Quinta and neighboring desert cities.
On the building sites, there was nothing Howe could not do, his wife said.
"He loved the field and was very hands on," she said.
The couple met in 1993 when he was hired at the construction firm where she was working.
"He was tall and strong with Native American features, and I liked him from the start," she said. "He went on to treat me like a queen, doing everything for me."
The couple married in 1997 and lived in Grand Terrace before settling in Redlands.
In the early years of their relationship, he had all the energy in the world, she said.
He traveled often to the Colorado River and Wyoming, did remodels for younger family members and liked to help the less fortunate.
He often gave money to the homeless at Christmas.
Even when he fell ill with cancer, he was on the go. He maintained ties with the reservation and spent time with a grandson he adored.
"All through his radiation days, he still ran all over the house with him, even though it would exhaust him," said his wife. "My grandson called Greg ..Papa Haans.' We don't know why and probably never will, but that was his name for him."
Howe is also survived by stepdaughters Rachel Hernandez of Crestline and Jyll Barnes of Redlands; his mother, Mildred Howe of San Diego; three brothers, Garth Howe and Dean Howe, both of San Diego, and Guy Howe of Bokeelia, Fla.; and three grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the American Legion, 820 W. State St., Redlands.
sad