Ms. Jan Howard's Obituary
Artist, song writer, and Grand Ole Opry member, Jan Howard, age 91 of Gallatin passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 28, 2020. She is preceded in death by her parents, Rolla and Linnie Johnson; two sons, James Van Howard and David B. Howard; two sisters, Minnie Downen and Beulah Slama; and five brothers, Bill Johnson, Pete Johnson, Junior Johnson, Richard Johnson, and Bob Johnson. She is survived by one son, Carter A. Howard (Pamela); two grandchildren, Mitsi H. Lindsay (Keith), Anita H. Simpson (Travis), and three great-grandchildren, Cole, Alli and Charlie; and Nephew Michael Downen (Stacy)
Born Lula Grace Johnson in West Plains, Missouri, in 1930, she was the eighth of 11 children, two of whom died before reaching the age of two. After dropping out of high school, Jan married at 16 but soon divorced and moved to Los Angeles. There, she would meet Wynn Stewart, one of the architects of the Bakersfield Sound. She would also meet her second husband, songwriter Harlan Howard. She signed to Challenge Records and, at the label’s request, changed her name to Jan Howard.
Her first hit, penned by her husband and Fuzzy Owen, was “The One You Slip Around With,” a Top 20 single in 1960. The Howards relocated to Nashville, where she began appearing on the Opry. Jan would sing on demos of songs written by her husband, including “I Fall to Pieces,” a major success for Patsy Cline. After a brief recording career with Capitol Records, she was signed to the Decca label, landing a Top Five single with “Evil on Your Mind.” Jan would also team with Opry star Bill Anderson on a number of duets, including her sole Number One, “For Loving You.”
Jan’s eldest son, Jimmy, was drafted into the Vietnam War in 1968, and frequent letters she would write to him inspired her to write the song “My Son,” a powerfully emotional single she would record in one take. She earned a Grammy nomination for the song. Later in the year, PFC James Van Howard was killed in a landmine explosion. Jan’s middle son, Carter, also served in Vietnam. Her youngest, David, would take his own life in 1973. Jan’s work with the armed forces, mental health facilities, and veterans organizations would earn her the Tennessee Adjutant General’s Distinguished Patriot Medal, its highest civilian honor. In 2005, the Commander in Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars presented her with the Medal of Merit, for “exceptional service rendered to country, community and mankind.”
Jan was inducted into the Opry on March 27, 1971, and would continue to have hits through the Seventies. She served as one of the Opry’s key performers and ambassadors throughout the remainder of her life. Her autobiography, Sunshine & Shadow: My Story, published in 1987, detailed a turbulent, often tragic life that Howard herself would describe as “a great soap opera.” Authors Robert K. Oermann and Mary Bufwack praised Jan’s “blunt, no-nonsense manner and stylish, no frills look” in their book Finding Her Voice.
As a songwriter, she scored hits for Kitty Wells (“It’s All Over But the Crying”), Connie Smith (“I Never Once Stopped Loving You”), and Bill Anderson (“Love Is a Sometimes Thing”).
Graveside services for Jan will be conducted from the grounds of Historic Spring Hill Cemetery and are private. A Celebration of Life Funeral Service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Overwatch Alliance Veterans Foundation, 1000 NorthChase Drive, Goodlettsville, TN, 37072.
Arrangements entrusted to Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5110 Gallatin Road, Nashville, TN, 37216, A Nashville landmark since 1785 “Where Nashville Comes to Remember
What’s your fondest memory of Jan?
What’s a lesson you learned from Jan?
Share a story where Jan's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Jan you’ll never forget.
How did Jan make you smile?
