Surrounded by his loving family, Howard Rezner of Orange, California, passed peacefully away on June 7th, 2008. Born in Monmouth, Illinois, on August 3rd, 1921 to Jay and Zelda (Ryason) Rezner, Howard grew up with his younger sister Mary Jayne on a farm on the outskirts of Biggsville, population 200, where his dad farmed 160 acres on the same land that his father and his father's father before him had farmed. Howard graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1944 with a degree in Electrical Engineering, did some post-graduate work at Harvard University, and served honorably in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps for twenty years until his retirement in 1964. During his time in the Navy, he traveled extensively and lived in many places around the world, including Bremerton, WA, Great Lakes,IL, Washington DC, Panama Canal, Las Cruces, NM, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Norfolk, VA. He settled with his growing family in Southern California and worked in the aerospace industry until 1992. The projects he was most proud of being associated with are the Skylab and Delta Launch Vehicle programs, as well as a materials management computer system known as "OMEGA", which he helped to develop in the early 1970's at McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company.
Howard is survived by his wife of 49 years, Ethel, and his children Alan Rezner of San Diego, Mark Rezner of Orange, David Rezner (Lisa) of Orange, Teresa Oakes (Michael) of Auburn, CA, Gregory Rezner (Clare) of Orange, John Rezner (Heather) of Manhattan Beach, Mary Carolyn Ledbetter (Paul) of Brighton, CO, Stephen Rezner (Robin) of Corona, and Paul Rezner (Kelly) of Corona; and his sister Janie Rezner of Mendocino, CA. He also leaves behind 31 grandchildren with another on the way, and two great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his eldest daughter Susan Thomsic, his son-in-law Michael Thomsic and daughter-in-law Debbie Rezner, and his first wife Catherine Anne Rezner (Smith) of Baltimore, MD.
Howard was a tremendously vital and integral part of the lives of his family and friends, and he will be deeply missed. His interests included woodworking, photography, gardening, fishing and hunting, but his greatest love and deepest passion was for his wife and children. He will always be remembered for his intelligence, his great love of learning, his generosity, unyielding integrity, "can-do" attitude, humor and spirit.
Vigil will be held at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange on Thursday, June 12th at 7:00 pm. Funeral Mass will be celebrated in the same cathedral the following day, Friday, June 13th at 2:00 pm, followed by interment at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange. A celebration of his life will be held immediately after. Online condolences may be sent to the Rezner family at www.howard-rezner.last-memories.com. Donations in Howard's memory can be made to Catholic Charities of Orange County (http://www.ccoc.org/) or Mary's Kitchen (http://www.maryskitchen.org/).
