
Tribute: to MICAH LEE DAVID HOWARD
By SARA SHEPHARD
The Kansas City Star
This Christmas was the first time Micah Howard helped decorate a tree. “It’s never coming down,” his grandmother said.
This Christmas was the first time Micah Howard helped decorate a tree. “It’s never coming down,” his grandmother said.
Who: Micah Lee David Howard, 3, of Kansas City.
When and how he died: Jan. 9 in Lyons, Kan. Micah’s cause of death has not been officially determined.
Last Christmas: For the first time, Micah was old enough to appreciate Christmas, his family said. And the comings and goings of Santa Claus were his main concern.
Inspired by a holiday movie, Micah implored his grandmother Scarlett Garner to move her tree because it was right in front of the fireplace. “He couldn’t figure out for sure just exactly how Santa Claus was going to get in,” she said.
When his grandfather sneaked a couple of the cookies meant for Santa, Micah chased him around the house until he gave them back, “because those were Santa’s,” his uncle Chris Garner said.
Chris Garner said Micah knew exactly what to do on Christmas Eve. “He was in bed straightaway and ready for the next morning.”
The tree: This Christmas also marked the first time Micah helped decorate the tree — a task he approached by hanging about a dozen ornaments on one branch.
The tree still stands in Scarlett Garner’s dining room, with Micah’s branch bowing under its cluster of ornaments.
“It’s never coming down,” Garner said. “When the lights go out, we’ll put on new lights.”
Surrounded by family: Micah had a 1-year-old brother, De’Angelo, and an 8-year-old sister, Makayla, and he often told her she was “boo-tee-ful,” Scarlett Garner said.
He lived with his siblings and his mother in his grandparents’ house.
Play, play, play: Micah loved making paper airplanes and playing anything sports-related.
“He was already throwing and catching and hitting balls with baseball bats and everything,” said Chris Garner, who spent a lot of time with him.
Garner said that when it was time for him to leave, Micah would usually hide his hat or his keys to detain him.
On Christmas, the last time Garner saw Micah, his nephew struck a deal — he’d tell his uncle where his keys were only after he helped him put together a new toy.
Mickey Mouse: Micah loved Mickey Mouse, relatives said. He watched “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” on TV and played Mickey Mouse games on the computer.
For his funeral, the family requested Mickey memorabilia instead of flowers and released 350 balloons — 100 of them shaped like Mickey. Micah was buried in a new Mickey Mouse outfit.
Survivors include: His mother, father, brother and half sister, as well as grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
The last word: Scarlett Garner described her grandson as “just plumb happy.”
“The last weeks of his life, I can tell you, with all the Christmas and things going on, Micah was the happiest little boy you ever saw in your life.”