Howard P. Tubbs

Howard P. Tubbs passed away peacefully Saturday evening, September 7, 2013, at home with his family.

He was born Feb 24, 1917, in Chatham, NY, and started working at the local pharmacy at 16. He played saxophone in a 5-member square dance band, earning $3 for 4 hours, although he never learned to read music. After attending Albany College of Pharmacy, he worked in pharmaceutical sales and merchandising, and as a pharmacist and pharmacy owner. He was a WWII veteran, and a high point of his military career was, as a Signal Corps officer, being allowed to climb to the outside crow's nest on top of the Eiffel Tower. He also played a key role in loading communications equipment into ships for D-Day. In 1953, he married Millicent Robinson of Altamont, NY, whom he fell in love with over the phone, at the small pharmacy chain where they were both working. They had 2 daughters and bought a pharmacy in Camden, NY. Howard loved snowmobiling, but after a blizzard with snow drifts to the roof, they decided to move south. They sold the store, bought a new car and camper, and took their family on a month-long trip around the United States. Afterwards, they wound up as far south as Ithaca, bought a pharmacy, and moved to Trumansburg in 1968. In 1971 he acquired some acreage with a 10-mile view of Cayuga Lake, the perfect lot for a dream house. He designed a house that had a hexagonal great room lined with windows, and roped Jim Ellison, Bob Murphy and Denny and Steve Millspaugh into figuring out how to build it. Howard enjoyed many years there walking in the woods, planting trees, and creating ponds. In 1984 he sold the pharmacy to his brother, and he and Milli started traveling in earnest. Besides Europe, they visited Alaska and Hawaii, finishing up visits to all 50 states. They enjoyed winters on the Gulf Coast, which allowed frequent visits to New Orleans, where Howard had been stationed during WWII, and where they both enjoyed dixieland jazz. In the mid-nineties, they decided to downsize and, after a very brief experiment in North Carolina, returned to Trumansburg. They continued to enjoy winters in Sun City, Arizona, where Howard made a great many bolos, belt buckles and jewelry in a lapidary club. He enjoyed volunteering at the Cayuga Medical Center's pharmacy, where he returned expired drugs for refunds, becoming what he was told was the only volunteer to make money for the hospital. He was a long-time member of both the First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses and Rotary. He continued to enjoy golf, walks in the woods, and always loved a reason to go to Millspaugh's.

Howard is survived by his wife Milli, his daughter Sue (Steve) Crawford of Freeville and their daughter Carolyn, his daughter Nancy Tubbs of Trumansburg, his brother Alan (Julie) Tubbs of Trumansburg and their children Ellie, Molly and Jason and their families, his nephew Don (Kandy) Tubbs of Chatham, NY, and their children Lynn and Tammy and their families, his great-nephew Robert Tubbs, and his cousin Lillian (Clint) Seefeldt of Chambersburg, PA. He was predeceased by his brother Albert DeWitt (Julia) Tubbs of Chatham and their son, Thomas.

There will be no calling hours but a celebration of his life will be announced at a later date.

Donations may be made to Trumansburg EMS Dept., 56 E. Main, Trumansburg, or the First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses, Box 597, Trumansburg.