Kristine Mathiasen

Howard Mathiasen

Howard Fredric Mathiasen Obituary Howard F. Mathiasen, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, stepfather, uncle, and friend, passed away peacefully after an illness on Monday, April 21, 2025, in Arvada, Colorado. He was 87 years old. Howard was born on November 26, 1937, in New York City to Herbert F. Mathiasen and Marion Baldwin. He spent his childhood in Douglaston, Long Island, close to the water, where he enjoyed playing basketball with friends and tending a garden. Every summer, Howard looked forward to traveling to Camp Danmark, the cherished family retreat on Fourth Lake in the Adirondack Mountains, established by his grandparents in the early 1900s. It remained a source of joy, adventure, and deep family connection throughout his life. Howard found his greatest happiness in nature. His daughter, Kristine recalls treasured cross-country road trips to the lake with her dad, where he spent hours swimming, fishing, and enjoying the peaceful surroundings. He even earned the title of “Camp Boy” and once made $100 in a summer—a point of pride. With the help of his cousin Linda Mathiasen, Howard compiled a heartfelt book of poetry, Mist on the Lake, inspired by his time at Camp Danmark. He followed in his father’s footsteps by attending the University of Virginia, where he earned his bachelor's degree, and later completed a master's degree at Hofstra University. Education played a central role in Howard’s life, helping forge many meaningful and lasting relationships. Howard met his first wife, Dolores "Dee" Schettino, at Bayside High School. They married in 1959 and built a life together on Long Island, adopting and raising three children: a son, Eric, who sadly predeceased him in 1998, and two daughters, Kristine and Karen. Howard began his professional career in banking, commuting to New York City and traveling across the country. He was known for his leadership, professionalism, and ability to build strong business relationships, eventually rising to the position of Senior Vice President by his 40s. He remained active in the banking community and deeply valued the colleagues he met along the way. A quiet, thoughtful, and spiritual man, Howard had a dry wit that delighted friends and family alike. He enjoyed golf, tennis, hiking, traveling, and his beloved model train collection. He was a loyal friend from boyhood to old age, and his humor—especially appreciated by his wife Jean—was one of his most endearing traits. She often joked, “I never knew Danes could be so funny!” Life brought Howard both joy and hardship. He endured the devastating loss of Dee and later, his son. In his late 40s, he suffered a debilitating stroke that resulted in memory loss. Despite these challenges, Howard’s resilience and determination carried him forward. After Dee’s passing, he moved with his daughters to Denver, Colorado, where they were lovingly supported by a close friend, Moira, and her family. Howard later married his second wife, Antoinette "Toni" Tucker, becoming a stepfather to her daughters, Jenny and Kim. For 23 years they were a strong family, celebrating many things together. Though separated later there was still familial love that they shared for each other and Toni remained a part of Kristine’s life.  Howard met his third wife, Jean Evelyn Ayres, in grade school at P.S. 98 in Douglaston, NY. Years later, they reconnected through a family friend. Howard attended Jean’s 60th birthday party and made it a tradition to call her each year on her birthday, always sending a humorous card. Their friendship blossomed into romance at age 73, and they married in 2012 when they were both 75. They shared nearly 13 joyful years of marriage, traveling together to Sanibel Island, FL, Barbados, Tucson, AZ, and up and down the East Coast. They took daily walks, shared plenty of laughter, and were affectionately known as the “lovebirds” for their constant hand-holding and mutual devotion. Along with Jean she had her children, Ben and Caroline Soares and Stuart Glover who loved Howard dearly. Howard leaves behind a legacy of love, resilience, and quiet strength. His life touched many, and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Howard is survived by his wife, Jean Ayres Mathiasen; his beloved daughter, Kristine Mathiasen and her husband Adam; grandchildren Kyle and Abby Mathiasen; and his daughter Karen Mathiasen. Howard is survived by the large, extended Mathiasen family including all his beloved nephews, nieces, cousins and dear friends. Please plant a tree or spend time outdoors in nature to honor Howard F. Mathiasen’s life and legacy. May his life be for a blessing. Godspeed to the man we all loved. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Howdy loved to talk about the many summers he spent at Camp Danmark - actually every summer (but one) of his whole life, until a few years ago. When he was a teenager, he was appointed camp boy for the whole summer. For instance he would have to raise and lower the two flags. For being “camp boy” he was paid the grand sum of 100 dollars. His best friend at camp was Dick, who had a boat so they would go sailing on fourth lake together and also fishing. However one day they were having a (rare) argument which turned into a yelling match. As they were getting ready to exchange blows, one of their aunts knocked on the door of the captain's cabin, and she was holding a HUGE PIE, just baked and still warm from the oven. The aunt had sliced the pie in half!!! She put the pie on a table and left, commenting that maybe they could help her dispose of the pie. Howdy said he and Dick looked at each other for a minute or so then each one grabbed his half of the pie, forgot what they were arguing about and gobbled up their half of the delicious pie immediately. After he told me this story, he had the biggest grin on his face. He’d always comment about not knowing until this incident how smart his aunt was. ~Jean Mathiasen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I struggled to know what to write, even as someone who does it all the time. It feels like if I write down my memories of my dad there's a finality to it. I wrote a poem, which I think my dad would love. AUTUMN You will not smile for a while The pain will cripple you Your heart will tear itself to pieces And the questions will outweigh the answers Grief is a powerful wave that pulls you under Holds you down And threatens to drown you You will rage against the world Rage against the one who left And still be lost in the emptiness that has been left behind The space in your life will not be filled And peace will be illusive Death claims us all Those left behind have no choice but to feel Everything... ~Kristine Mathiasen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My Beautiful Memories of My Dad, oh Dear so Many! Where should I start… Camp denmark Riding the trailer down the driveway Learning how to swim, canoe, ski Boating license, roe boat, kayak, sailboat, bonfires at 13 years old How lucky and blessed I am Atlanta, Georgia I took dad on my motorcycle = Yes he was my passenger = Not easy. We named him = sideways Colorado We went to a free jazz music festival with a picnic in the park Shopping/lunch Sleeping over at Dad and Jeans house Driving cross country in a 24ft truck - Me and Dad - So many conversations I will end this with a quote that dad and I will know what it means…well maybe not a quote = a word “What” ~Karen Mathiasen

When words can't fully express what we want to say, sometimes a small gift can. Visit our Memorial Store for personalized gifts, keepsake jewelry and to plant a memorial tree.

We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and analyze site traffic.
<privacyLink>Privacy Policy</privacyLink>.

<firstParagraph>We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website, store your preferences, and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you. These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience.</secondParagraph>

<firstParagraph>We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>The cookies that are categorized as 'Necessary' are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site.</secondParagraph>

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

Analytics

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

Functional

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Necessary

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Performance

Customize Cookie Preferences

Verification Successful!

New Message

The following files could not be uploaded

Ways you can honor {memorialName}'s memory:

Donation Link

Upcoming Event

Featured Mementos

Welcome Message

Select an item to highlight

Add a highlighted item

Customize which items you’d like to highlight on the memorial

Create Account

Become a Keeper

As a free {brandName} user, you will only be able to make 5 photos and videos public.

As a free {brandName} user, only the first five (5) Mementos are visible to page visitors. You can change which Mementos are public by dragging and dropping a photo or video to one of the first five positions. Upgrading to {brandName} Plus will make all 10 Mementos selected visible to the public.

All Mementos

This option is only available to Keeper Plus users.

To allow yourself and the rest of the community to view all images and videos, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of these mementos, upgrade your account to Keeper Plus.

This memento is not visible to visitors

Your community has posted {itemCount} more pictures and videos that honor {firstName}'s memory. To view them all, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of each, this account will need to upgrade to Keeper Plus.

View all images and videos with Keeper Plus

Our Obituary Assistant helps you craft a meaningful life story in minutes. Review and edit every detail, and unlock more features with Keeper Plus.

Obituary Assistant

Spend as much time as you need working on your Memorial page before it is visible to the public, and much more, when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Save Page as Draft

Create unlimited event pages and unlock a suite of powerful features to help you seamlessly coordinate event details, invites, and more when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Event

Create a full picture of your loved one’s community and add unlimited family and friends to Loved Ones when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Loved One

Create unlimited Memorials — and unlock unlimited images and videos, event pages, and advanced privacy settings — to help you keep memories alive when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Memorial Page

Add unlimited Stories to highlight the all the things that made your loved one unique, from milestones, images, albums, documents, locations, and much more.

Highlight Stories

Upgrading to Keeper Plus means you can add additional Keepers to help you gather Mementos and tributes, approve content, build out a family tree, and tell {firstName}' story on Keeper.

Invite Keepers with Keeper Plus

Upload and display unlimited photos and videos, use unlimited Story templates to highlight key moments, and allow friends and family to download their own copies when you upgrade to Keeper Plus. 

Better Mementos with Keeper Plus

To access memorial related configurations that control the display of the banner upgrade to Keeper Plus.

This configuration  is not available on your current plan

Create a meaningful link path to add a personal touch to {firstName}'s memorial.

Custom Memorial link

Gift Messages

SENDING AS A GIFT?

Cart

About 1-800 Flowers

"Flowers were beautiful and they arrived in time before the funeral. Thank you and will purchase more in the future.!"

Hearing Tears

"Beautiful flowers, I've always enjoyed sending them to my love ones for sympathy and they have always love them very much Thanks for making people feel good when receiving them."

Sympathy

"This was true to the photo and good to know family took arrangement after the service."

Beautiful arrangement.  Perfect size for service.

Some of the great things our customers say about us

We're here to make it a little easier, with thoughtful gifts for the services & home, along with expert advice on how to be there during a difficult time.

Flowers

Gift Baskets

Express Your Deepest Sympathy

About Us

Perfect Condolence Gift

No one is meant to grieve alone

Peace and love

Product is made, packaged, and sent with love

Keepsakes

How to add your gift message

Packaging Information

Shipping information

Add a Personalized Charm to the Ornament:

Other Keepsakes

Install KeeperQR onto any headstone, urn, or other memorial in minutes.

Install

Use your phone or tablet to scan the unique code — no other tools required!

Scan

All three of our elegant KeeperQR designs are printed using durable, weather-resistant aluminum designed for indoors and outdoor use on headstones and urns, memorial benches and trees, or other monuments to your loved one’s life

Built to Last

Get <discount>50% off</discount> Keeper Plus with your KeeperQR purchase

Keeper Basic

Learn About Our Plans

Connect the physical and digital worlds to share your loved one’s life story with friends and family, no matter where they are.

KeeperQR Memorial QR Code Plaques

Planting a memorial tree or bereavement tree is a unique, environmentally conscious way to pay tribute and honor the memory of your loved one. Keeper Memorials is supporting American Forests to plant whitebark pine trees as well as thornscrub trees in select regions of the US and Canada.

Memorial Trees

KeeperQR is designed to pair seamlessly with a Keeper digital memorial. Use our FREE intuitive tools to create biographies, maps, and timelines, share photos and videos, and more with customizable features built to commemorate your loved one’s life’s story.

Powered by Keeper

Lifetime without any hidden costs or subscription traps

One time payment

Keeper is SOC2 compliant, keeping your memories safe and secure.

Data protection guaranteed

We bring your QR Codes to any corner of the globe

Worldwide Shipping

Our durable and beautiful QR code plaques create seamless connection between your loved one’s physical memorial and their digital memorial, allowing visitors to their final resting place instant access to their life legacy.

Memorial.

Honor their memory, share their story

A KeeperQR is a weather-resistant plaque with a custom QR code that links directly to your loved one’s digital memorial. When placed on a headstone, urn, bench, or tree, it allows friends and family to scan and view their life story instantly

What is a KeeperQR?

They’re built to withstand outdoor elements and adhere to most surfaces.

Where can I place the KeeperQR?

How does it work?

Frequently asked questions

KeeperQR

E-Certificate Design

Plant Memorial Trees as a Living Tribute

BRAZIL

CANADA

FLORIDA

OREGON

Memorial Project Reach

Memorial trees start at {price} per tree, with discounts for multiple trees

Our Commitment

Gift Baskets & Food

Keeper Plus

QR Plaques

Keepers Featured Products

A Greener Way to Remember

Learn about our Partners:

Help Us Complete Your Order

Remembrance Store

Through your unique link, your client can sign up for Keeper and create a Memorial for a loved one. When the Memorial page is completed by the family, it will appear on your microsite and website. You will be the main Keeper Administrator of the Memorial, along with the family member that created the page.

Invite Your Clients to Create a Memorial

Invite Families

Your Email Notifications

Notifications

Email Unsubscribe Settings

Other Settings

With your active Keeper PLUS subscription, you get unlimited access to a suite of powerful features:

Allow visitors to download a local copy of all images and videos.

Download Media

Create a custom and meaningful URL, unique to your loved one, for each Memorial page.

Editable URL

Plan public or private events and invite your loved ones.

Event Pages

Add images and create profile pages to illustrate the history and genealogy of your loved one.

Family Tree

Invite unlimited administrators to help you manage every Memorial page you have.

Keeper Administrators

Visitors enjoy unrestricted access to all uploaded images and videos.

Unlimited Media

Create unlimited Memorial pages for your loved ones.

Memorial Pages

You will be able to upload Full HD videos instead of embedded links.

Video Uploading

Your Profile

Add a business user

Edit a business user

Are you sure you want to delete these users from these brands? You will need to manually add these users again.

If the user is a part of multiple brands, you will have to delete the user from each one individually

Delete Users from Brands?

Users Settings & Notifications

Users

Are you sure you want to delete these users? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Are you sure you want to delete this user? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Delete Users from all Brands?

Delete User from Brand?

Are you sure you want to delete {totalDeletes} from this user?

Delete Roles from this User?

Are you sure you want to delete this user from this brand? You will need to manually add this user again.

Delete User from this Brand?

Requires users to confirm their email every time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned OFF, Guest users do not need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned ON, Guest users will need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published. They will receive an email with a confirmation link they must click.

Requires users to confirm their email only the first time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

Email Tribute Validation

If Flagged Content is turned OFF, content that has been flagged will remain public until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

If Flagged Content is turned ON, content that has been flagged will be hidden until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

Hide Flagged Content

Language

Email Notifications

Are you sure you want to delete the Memorial for {name}? This action will permanently remove the memorial from the system.

Delete Memorial?

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned OFF, Memorials will automatically be published.

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned ON, Memorials will only be published if and when you approve them. Memorials can be published or deleted in the Requests center.

Memorial Request Moderation

Moderation Settings

This will permanently delete your account. The business account, and business page will not be deleted. To deactivate your account, there must be another admin user assigned to your organization.

Are you sure you want to deactivate this account?

When Override Tribute Moderation is turned OFF, the tribute moderation settings on Memorial pages will be hidden and other Keepers cannot override the tribute moderation settings specified by your organization.

When Override Tribute Moderation is turned ON, other Keepers can view and change the tribute moderation settings of the Memorial pages they manage. (Each Memorial page will default to the organization’s tribute moderation setting upon creation.) 

Override Tribute Moderation

If the AI Content Moderation is OFF, text areas containing profane language will be published.  Tributes can however be flagged and removed at any time.

If the AI Content Moderation is ON, text areas containing profane language will not be published and the user will receive an error message.

AI Content Moderation

When Tribute Moderation is turned OFF, Tributes will automatically be published. Once published, users can flag inappropriate or spam content. You can instantly delete any Tributes published on a Memorial that you administer.

When Tribute Moderation is turned ON, Tributes will only be published if and when you approve them. Tributes can be approved or rejected in the Requests center.

Tribute Moderation

When Tribute Validation is turned OFF, Tributes will automatically be published. Once published, users can flag inappropriate or spam content. You can instantly delete any Tributes published on a Memorial that you administer.

When Tribute Validation is turned ON, Tributes will only be published if and when you approve them. Tributes can be approved or rejected in the Requests center.

Howard Howdy Mathiasen Obituary | Keeper Memorials