Howard Coffey Pulley, 82, of Oak Grove, born April 23, 1931, died May 19, 2013, was a faithful husband for 62 years, father of three boys. He was a lifelong farmer, who like his father, raised cut flowers to sell wholesale to florists.
He died at home Sunday, May 19, 2013 after being in hospice for about a year after suffering a severe heart attack. Because of other health problems, he decided against surgery, but regained strength to stay at home on the farm, often working outdoors and enjoying visits from friends and family.
Howard was raised in Raytown, where he met his sweetheart Shirley. They had planned to attend college but the Korean War intervened. Howard was drafted and they married before he left for service, where he was assigned to be a Jeep driver for a construction outfit not always far from front lines. He returned to Raytown where family asked him to help on the farm. He soon had his own share of land and the couple had three boys. Notions of high education then seemed impractical. However, they made sure each son had opportunity to attend university.
From spring to fall, daily Howard rose early to work his land, and finished late after cultivating and other chores, and often Shirley pitching in to work alongside him.
They raised peonies, daffodils, bachelor’s buttons, and more. Gladiolus he planted each year carefully arranging thousands of bulbs one by one in rows. Each stem was cut by hand, bundled with others with rubber bands and walked from the field to truck. He’s hire local teenagers to help, when his own boys were old enough, he taught them the value of hard work, tolerating the days they found it more fun to throw clods than weed.
Howard and Shirley prospered, eventually moving to rural Oak Grove where they bought a larger place. They were frugal, Howard to the point where it was funny. he patched cracked ax handles or seat covers and other tools with duct tape – when he could easily buy new – wrestling every bit of use from them. Tractors and implements were welded, patched and tied with binders twine.
They were generous where it counted. The boys got music lessons, and scout camp, and vacations and taxied to sports and never wanted for any necessity.
Howard surprised people with dozens and dozens of bouquets of flowers taken to the library, bank, schools. doctor’s offices, to church, and to friends all over his community, giving away beauty he worked so hard to grow and that was his livelihood.
Howard and Shirley loaned and gave money to sons and grandchildren so they could buy homes, they along with others, invested money to make it happen.
He made lifelong friends along the way. One was a Korean veteran he met while waiting in Kansas City for the bus that would carry them to basic training, and then that friend’s bride as well. Another couple they met while taking his sons to Cub Scouts in 1964, then for decades they met often to play pinochle until ill health ended their frequent games not too long ago. How they could concentrate with eight children from the two families chasing through the house is anyone’s guess.
and he has many more friends, including those met in Oak Grove after moving there in 1967, especially from the United Methodist Church that they regularly attended.