Howard Griner

Howard Griner was the 6th child born to Josephine Mahoney Griner and John H. Griner. He was born in a row house on Chase Street in East Baltimore May 21, 1932. Howard and his 4 older brothers John, Everette, Bill, Calvin, and sister Sonya had a strict and rigorous upbringing. Besides attending school, the boys worked in their father's cabinet factory. They also worked in his restaurant on Jefferson St.. Howard and Calvin sold codfish cakes at lunchtime to Dunbar students as part of their responsibilities. His mother died October 6, 1949. All his life he regretted having such a short time with her. He inherited his musical ear and love of music from her. Despite her best efforts she was unable to persuade his father of the importance of taking the piano lessons he longed for. She also instilled in him his love of the Lord and the Christian Faith. While he attended Dunbar High School, he was thrilled to be selected to be "Boy Governor of Maryland". His exemplary high school years earned him college scholarships. Instead, Howard joined the Air Force and worked at the National Security Agency doing decoding and encrypting for national defense. He loved his work because it was like a game to him. He met Norma Dungee. She felt he was a very, very nice man. They married in less than a year in 1954. Elizabeth was born in Washington DC prior to his first overseas post in Weisbaden, Germany. With only one child, they were able to travel extensively throughout Europe. Norma’s college major in German and fluency in French served them well, and Howard was able to learn enough German to impress the locals with his efforts. Lawrence was born in Germany almost 4 years later than Elizabeth; and the family moved to San Angelo, Texas. Only 18 months after Lawrence, Howard J. came along and the family headed east. The first Negroes in the area, Norma and Howard bought a house in a Jewish community in NW Baltimore which quickly changed character. Dad, Howard was about to be sent overseas again and Norma did not want to uproot the children from their schools and friends. He resigned from the Air Force in August 1964. He then had a number of different jobs like selling Encyclopedia Brittanica door to door. He applied for a warehouse position with Equitable Trust Bank. He achieved the highest score on the employment test and was accused of cheating. When it was found he had not, the bank believed they had found an excellent candidate to be the first manager of color of a major bank in Maryland. He managed their Edmonson Village branch for several years. Even though he had not attended college, he rose to the challenge enjoying his work, his cameraderie with his customers and esteem from his coworkers. He absolutely loved helping people find their right path to financial success. On leaving the bank, he worked for Morgan State Small Business Administration and then started his own business on Howard St.. After he closed his store, he worked as the business manager for a number of different companies. He was married to Norma Elizabeth Dungee for 18 years before divorcing. In the last years of his life they rekindled their friendship. He is survived by his children, sister Nelita Parris, brother Dr. Winston Griner, 7 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. And a host of nieces nephews and devoted friends.

Tributes

Howard Griner

May 21, 1932 - October 3, 2018