Rocky Mount, N.C.—Irene Smith Howell, the founder of 26 care facilities for mentally handicapped persons in North Carolina, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from North Carolina Wesleyan College during the College’s 43rd commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 6.

            Speaking on behalf of the College, Wesleyan president Dr. Ian Newbould praised Mrs. Howell, a Kinston native, as an “outstanding daughter of Eastern North Carolina” whose concern and compassion for others prompted her to establish a network of care facilities and group homes for handicapped North Carolina citizens.

            A capacity crowd of 1,200 in Minges Auditorium of Wesleyan’s Dunn Center for the Performing Arts heard Dr. Newbould’s praise for Mrs. Howell’s accomplishments.            “Irene Smith was born in Kinston, the daughter of Buchard and Addie Smith. They lived in a rural community—near Tull’s Mill, which was near Deer Run, which was near Jackson’s Crossroads, just south of Kinston. That is rural North Carolina!” Newbould began.

“The economic Depression that she was born into was not an easy time for farm people. But it was especially difficult when her father was killed in an accident when she was four. She subsequently experienced sorely impoverished circumstances on the farm.

“At the age of 15, she married Reece Howell, and was unable to finish high school until after the Second World War. Soon she had two children and worked to put her husband through college. Eventually, the Howells raised five children, and life became busy. Her children describe her as a remarkable person, and indeed she was. She became, in fact, a veritable one-woman mothering industry.

“In 1956, Mrs. Howell began a day care center. The concept was a new one, and not one accepted by all,” Newbould explained. “But Irene recognized the need for children to be properly looked after in a society far more complicated than the one that she and her family had been born into. Before long, her thriving child care endeavor grew, and Irene showed acumen both as a caregiver and a business woman. She became involved as well in establishing a group home for girls, and with the Caswell Center for the mentally handicapped.

“In 1966, life took a sudden turn when the Howell’s first grandchild was born with brain and nervous system abnormalities. As she began to help care for her grandson, Sean, the need for a residential care facility became evident, and by 1970 the Howell Child Care Center in Kinston was established. Through determined work and persistence, the Howell Centers developed into a private, non-profit corporation comprised of 26 intermediate care facilities and group homes for mentally handicapped North Carolina citizens, from Charlotte to the coast.

“Irene Howell’s vision and commitment to her fellow humans represents the triumph of hope. Family tragedies might well have caused her to ask, ‘Why me, God?’ But she did not do so. Rather, she demonstrated the resilience of the human spirit. Guided by a strong sense of Christian mission, this remarkable woman committed herself to the betterment of special needs children and their families. To care for these children of God, to treat them with dignity and respect, became her passion.

In concluding his introduction of Mrs. Howell, Newbould said, “She has truly been ‘there for others.’ Our graduates here today can have no better beacon to follow than this outstanding daughter of Eastern North Carolina.”

Mrs. Howell and her husband, Gordon Reece Howell, have two daughters and three sons. Two sons are graduates of North Carolina Wesleyan College—Gerald Howell of Goldsboro and Joseph Howell of Charlotte.     

Following the presentation of Mrs. Howell’s honorary degree, 217 Wesleyan students received their bachelor’s degrees.

North Carolina Wesleyan College is an independent, four-year liberal arts college for men and women, founded in 1956 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church. Located on a 200-acre site in Rocky Mount, the college offers the bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in 21 majors on the main campus. An Adult Degree Program that offers bachelor’s degrees in several disciplines is available on the Rocky Mount campus and in Goldsboro and Raleigh.

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