Fred Harris Howard II

Fred Harris Howard II, a resident of Lawrence, Kansas, died at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence on Friday, January 14, 2011. He was 82.
Funeral services will be held at the Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, Emporia, on Tuesday at 2:00 PM. The service will be conducted by Pastor Earl Detwiler, Grace United Methodist Church, Emporia. Interment will follow in the Prairie Grove Cemetery, west of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home the hour before the service.
Mr. Howard was born September 19, 1928 on his family’s Chase County ranch near Matfield Green, the son of Fred and Anna Marie (Crocker) Howard.
Fred was raised in Chase County and graduated from Strong City Rural High School in 1946. After graduation, he attended the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. He was also a graduate of the Northwestern University School Law Enforcement Supervision and Command School.
In 1953 he became a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper and was stationed in the Wichita area where he served as liason officer for the District Attorney’s office.
He served with distinction as Director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, receiving his appointment from Attorney General Vern Miller on January 11, 1971, and serving until 1975. While Director, he created two regional KBI offices, and authored the code of ethics for the bureau. He also taught at the Kansas Law Enforcement Academy.
In 1975 Fred was appointed Chief of Police for the City of Topeka, Kansas and retired in 1981, after 30 years in law enforcement.
During the following years he farmed and was a stockman in Wabaunsee County. In conjunction with his retirement he prepared legislation and testified as a liason officer for the Kansas Peace Officers Association. Fred returned to public service in 1992 when elected to serve on the Wabaunsee County Commission three terms.
He was a member of the Kansas Peace Officers Association, having served as President in 1979. He was also a member of the Newton Masonic Lodge #142, A.F. & A.M. (Newton, Kansas). To reflect his love of Chase County and the Flint Hills Fred was a life member of the Chase County Historical Society, and a shareholder in the Strong City Rodeo.
He married Beverly K. Pyke on December 31, 1949 in Great Bend, Kansas. She survives. They celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary in 2010.
Other survivors include two daughters, Kathryn Howard Pike of Lawrence, Kansas, B. Kristine Howard White, and her husband, Paul, of Papillion, Nebraska, daughter-in-law, Chris Howard, Americus, Kansas, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his son, Robert Crocker Howard, brothers; Donald and Robert Howard, and sister, Patricia McLinden.
A memorial has been established with the Kansas Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Restoration Project. Gifts may be sent to the funeral home, P.O. Box 175, Emporia, Kansas 66801.
Online condolences may be sent through: www.robertsblue.com.