Raymond Christopher Howell died peacefully in his sleep early Wednesday morning at Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg. Beloved son of George and Adelaide Howell of King’s Lynn, England, Mr. Howell was born Nov. 23, 1932. He is survived by sons Keith of Oshawa, Chris of Cobourg and Ian of Port Coquitlam, B.C., grandsons Dakota, Josh and Marcus, and granddaughters Taylor, Maiya and Callie, and his long-time partner Gloria Craig of Brockville, and his former wife Nancy. He ran track and field and cross country in school, winning several sports and academic awards growing up in the post-war King’s Lynn area in Norfolk, England. He married Eryl Margaret Dye in March, 1956 and they moved to Canada the following year, where Mr. Howell taught high school in Kapuskasing, Mimico and eventually wound up at Brockville Collegiate where he became head of the geography department. Eryl predeceased him in 1984. He changed careers in 1972, attending Aberystwyth College and Mount Royal College, Calgary for library studies. He went on to become Chief Librarian at the Brockville Public Library from 1974 until his retirement in 1995.Ray was an avid soccer fan, coaching sons Ian and Chris in his favourite sport and serving various positions with the Brockville Minor Soccer Association, including president. He sang in the choir for a an amazing duration of 75 years prior in England and more recently at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Brockville, and later at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Cobourg and St. James Anglican Church in Port Hope.He retired to Cobourg eight years ago and was active there in yoga, aquatics and the lives of his grandchildren, communicating regularly by Skype with Callie and Taylor in B.C.He was on the condo board in his Orange St. Building. Last year, he was in good enough health to fulfill a life-long dream of visiting the Grand Canyon with his family, the pinnacle of a climber’s exhilaration. Sadly, a planned trip to Florida in March this year had to be cancelled when Ray suffered a brain hemorrhage, from which he never fully recovered. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation would be greatly appreciated. Family and Friends may call at the Barclay Funeral Home, 137 Pearl St. East Brockville on Saturday June 28, 2014 from 11 a.m. until 1p.m. A Celebration of Life will be held in the Chapel at 1p.m. Messages of condolence may be sent online at www.barclayfuneralhome.com