Violet Florena Howard began her life in Roseburg, Ore., on Dec. 18, 1925, the fourth child of Rosanah Jane (Murr) and Christopher Columbus Gunter. Her mother passed away when she was 10, so Violet went to live with her eldest sister, Nona Barnekoff, in Bandon, Ore., a place she would call home for the next 78 years. In 1944, she graduated from Bandon High School. Violet married James W. Howard on Aug. 10, 1946, following his discharge from the United States Army. Together they raised a family of three children in Prosper, Ore. On Feb. 3, 1989, Violet became a widow after 43 years of marriage. As a young child,…