Posted by Kurt Howerton
I first met Eldon more than 30 years ago. I was fairly new Boy Scout and he was a new adult leader for Troop 275 in San Bruno. We quickly discovered we held a mutual interest in a number of activities: camping, hiking, rock climbing, firearms and aviation. Over the next several years, he shared his knowledge and enthusiasm of these subjects with the troop. His gentle leadership guided a number of young men to become leaders themselves. A number of those, including myself, achieved the rank of Eagle Scout while he was a member.
Eldon would tell a story of one summer camp the troop attended. Imagine being the sole adult responsible for a dozen or so 11 & 12 year old scouts with only the help of two older scouts, one 14 years old and one 15 years old (me). To paint the picture, I was over 6 feet tall and nearly twice the size of the rest of the scouts ... and Eldon. To say the scouts looked up to me was an understatement. Near the end of the stressful week, I was supervising the preparation of dinner - arms crossed and a scowl, when Eldon walked up, tugged my sleeve a few times and cried (in a high pitched voice), "Kurt! Kurt! Kurt!". He says I turned and gave him a look like I was about to crush him, then broke down and laughed. The tension was relieved and we were able to survive the rest of the week - without committing any felonies. I think that event marked the change from mentorship to friendship for us.
Eldon truly embodied the values of scouting. He was trustworthy, courteous, kind, cheerful, thrifty, helpful and always prepared. There's one value the scouts missed: reliable - he was that too. You knew you could count on Eldon when he said he'd do something. I can't count the number of times he helped me or my family move, although he managed to get out of the last couple of moves we did.
Beyond scouting, Eldon was a companion of mine in many activities. We climbed a number of faces at places like Mt. Tamalpais, Pinacles National Monument and Castle Rock State Park. He even helped teach my first wife to climb her first rock. He introduced me to competitive pistol shooting through groups like IPSC and IDPA, although I never followed "Ranger Grant" into cowboy action shooting.
Over the years, he was a fixture at Howerton family events. Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, holidays and yes, even a funeral. He became part of the family, an uncle to my nieces and to my own children, more brother to me than friend. There were sometimes long periods of little communication. A phone call would catch us up on the latest events and it was like there had been no gap.
I mentioned we shared a love of aviation and that's where I'd like to wrap this up. We know he had a family history in aviation: the uncle he was named after and his own father, who I was always in awe of. We attended a number of air shows together: Hamilton Field, Moffit Field, and Madera Airport to name a few. I still have a stack of photos he gave me from those shows. He could name the model of just about every military aircraft on the field.
I managed to obtain a pilot's license and a few years ago purchase a plane, a Chinese Army Air Force trainer. In 2008, Eldon mentioned he wanted to attend the California International Air Show. I asked if he'd ever flown into an air show. Since he hadn't, I made the necessary arrangements to display my aircraft. The day arrived and I flew to San Carlos to pick him up - not telling him I had fell off my plane the evening before and now had 20 stitches in my right hand. With Tylenol controlling the pain, I was going to get him to that air show in style! After a short wait for the fog to clear in Salinas, we landed and were towed into the display area. I understand he shared that experience with a number of his other friends. I was glad I was able to share that time with him. My only regret was not being able to get him up into a formation flight.