Introduction

Biography

Verna was the son of Eli­sha John How­ard and Co­rine Smith, brother of Al­ton How­ard, and hus­band of Ruth Mo­ryne Jack­son.

He at­tend­ed Abi­lene Chris­tian Col­lege, Hard­ing Col­lege and Ar­kan­sas State Uni­ver­si­ty.

He be­gan preach­ing at age 19, and served in Pow­en, Green­ville, and Tex­ar­ka­na, Tex­as; and in Hot Springs and Con­way, Ar­kan­sas. He al­so con­duct­ed Gos­pel meet­ings through­out Am­eri­ca, bap­tiz­ing ov­er 8,000 peo­ple.

He owned a jew­el­ry store, was pre­si­dent of Cen­tral Print­ers and Pub­lish­ing Com­pa­ny and of How­ard Foun­da­tions, Inc., and served on the Board of Freed-Har­de­man Col­lege.

Howard is per­haps best re­mem­bered as a ra­dio broad­cast­er, be­gin­ning in Hot Springs, Ar­kan­sas, in 1934, with his sig­na­ture tag line, Are you list­en­ing? He re­tired from ra­dio in 1995.

Works

• Church Gos­pel Songs and Hymns, with Broad­us Smith (West Mon­roe, Lo­ui­si­ana: Cen­tral Print­ers and Pub­lish­ers, 1978, 1983)