Walter "Tootie" Agnew Howell

Walter Agnew Howell, Jr. – known to everyone as “Tootie” – left his friends and family in shock and grief with his sudden passing from life at his home, with his wife by his side, on Tuesday, January 27, 2015, at the age of 55. Visitation will be Thursday, January 29, 2015, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. at Groesbeck Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at 3:00 on Friday, January 30, 2015 in the Groesbeck Funeral Home Chapel, with Pastor David Snow of the Shiloh Baptist Church officiating. Burial will follow in Thornton Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Matt Sledge, Lee Owen, Tim Brewer, Keith Lee, Brandon Ferguson, Jeremy Owen, Thomas Lammons, and Murray Agnew. The Round Table at Mary’s Breakfast and Burger Barn will all be honorary pallbearers. Walter was born in Waco on August 18, 1959 to Walter Agnew Howell Sr. and Doris Yarborough Howell. He grew up in Mart, where he was a football player for the Mart Panthers in the seventies, and was proud to have had his football picture in Dave Campbell’s football magazine in 1977. Tootie went to work for Southern Pacific railroad where his father worked, as a welder’s helper, and worked for the railroad for ten years. Tootie was united in marriage with Tracey Morgan on April 6, 1990 in Mart, and they lived in Houston until moving to Groesbeck in 2003. He was self-employed in lawn and landscape work around Groesbeck and Mexia, and his true love was working outdoors. He was a person who gave his sincere attention to his customers and will be greatly missed. Tootie was able to make a change in his life, finding his sobriety in 2006. He chaired the Narcotics Anonymous classes that met twice a week in the Limestone County Courthouse. He wanted to help everyone else make the change in their lives and met with and talked to many outside of the classes. Tootie loved riding motorcycles, and especially loved going to the round table at Mary’s Breakfast and Burger Barn every morning to give a hard time to the regulars. He had a big smile and a great sense of humor for which he was well known. He always loved conversation and never met a stranger. He was a big man, with a rough exterior, but had a tender heart caring for others, and was generous to help others with his last dollar. His tender care even extended to his dog Britches, and bottle feeding her orphaned litter of puppies. Tootie loved his wife and children and each one of his grandchildren. He stayed in touch with the kids, wanting to “see them” on his phone all the time. Tootie was preceded in death by his father, Walter Agnew Howell, Sr.; an infant daughter, Christi Lynn Howell; and his father-in-law, Norman Morgan. He is survived by his wife, Tracey Howell, of Groesbeck; his mother, Doris Howell of Mart; his brother, Billy Howell of Mart; daughter and son-in-law, Tori and Brian Armstrong of Beaumont; son, Jason Howell of Robinson; daughter and son-in-law Kristi and Steven Upton of Itasca; son and daughter-in-law, Joshua and Debbie Little of Hallettsville; daughter and son-in-law, Jessica Little Lieurance and Chuck Lieurance of Santa Fe, TX. He also leaves behind fourteen grandchildren: Zachary and William Armstrong; David and Abigail Howell; Steven III, T.J., Alyssa, and Tiffany Upton; Ashlee Starkey, Hunter Moffatt; November Little(#4); Jesse, Randee, and Chevy Lopez; his mother-in-law, Janet Morgan, and other extended family.