Celestine Howard, 97, Had Career in Arts Education

Celestine Howard, a seasonal resident of Oak Bluffs, died May 22 at Neville Center in Cambridge. She was 97.

Celestine remained a lively and artistically gifted woman, active into her late nineties. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Sept. 11, 1908. Her parents were John Johnson, a Pullman car porter, and Olivia Forrester.

From her earliest days, Celestine sewed, painted and played the piano. Moving to Boston to attend Boston University, she earned a master's degree in fine arts, but as an African-American found it difficult to secure a teaching job in 1930s' Boston. Leaving the area, she was hired to teach at a segregated school for girls in Durham, N.C., where she worked for almost 10 years. She eventually returned to the Boston area to become the first African-American teacher in the Quincy school system.

An avid appreciator of the arts, she was committed to passing her enthusiasm and love of art to her young students. She traveled to Europe and northern Africa, returning with fresh ideas, to bring new creativity to her teaching. As a result of a 1964 sabbatical in Mexico City, she developed a deep admiration for Mexican culture and traditions and also traveled to much of Central and South America. Returning home, she was thrilled when the junior high school principal allocated some of the budget for copper and other materials so that she could teach the students the techniques of jewelry making that she had recently acquired.

In 1976, she married Lloyd Howard and retired from the school system the following year. During her retirement, she summered in Oak Bluffs, on Martha's Vineyard, continuing to paint, to make clothing and jewelry and to socialize with her many friends in town. During the winter months, she served as a docent at the Museum of Fine Arts and enjoyed the companionship of women friends of two national service organizations, the Links, Inc. and the Northeasterners. Mr. Howard died in 1993.

Celestine was extraordinarily stylish. She loved beautiful clothes, flowers, poetry and music, especially Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra.

In February 2006, at their 10th annual breakfast celebration, the Human Rights Committee of the City of Quincy acknowledged the contributions of Celestine. The Norfolk County district attorney and the city council president presented plaques of recognition to Celestine. She spoke appreciatively and vividly of her teaching experiences and was later greeted by many former students who expressed their joy at seeing her older, but unchanged in so many ways.

Her love of life, appreciation of beauty, strength of character and unwavering belief in the goodness of humanity is the legacy she leaves behind.

She is survived by her stepdaughter, Janice Howard Dost; her niece, Olivia Steele; and nephew, Richard Steele.