Teacher Dennis Howie dies after long battle with cancer

Family and friends will gather Wednesday afternoon in Upper Southampton for the funeral of Neshaminy English teacher Dennis Howie. 

The well-known and much respected veteran educator died Sunday night after battling neuroendocrine cancer for four years. He is survived by his wife Jennifer, a Maple Point Middle School teacher, and their sons Jacob and Daniel. 

Howie's funeral begins at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Goldstein's Funeral Home at 310 Second Street Pike in Upper Southampton, according to district officials. 

The teacher is being remembered for caring about every student and his efforts to make the community a better place. 

'He made me hungry to learn and explore and reminded me to always stay focused on my truth no matter where I go,' one of his former students said on the district's Facebook page. 'Here's to great teachers who really take the time and effort to really see their students.' 

Howie began teaching at Neshaminy's Carl Sandburg Middle School in Middletown in 1993. He moved to Neshaminy High School in 1996 where he mostly taught 10th-grade English, according to a post on the district's Facebook page. 

The educator was awarded the 2011 Teacher as Hero Award by the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia for inspiring, nurturing and mentoring his students. 

During an interview with the newspaper in early 2012, Howie said he requested that he be assigned to teach both Advanced Placement and lower level English classes. 

'That gives me two completely different challenges and a chance to have an effect on students at different ends of the spectrum in terms of literacy and writing ability,' Howie said in 2012. 

The teacher also was heavily involved with students outside of the classroom, district officials said. He served as adviser for the high school's literary magazine, now called 'Howler,' worked with the Neshaminy Educational Support Team and founded Spectrum, the NHS gay-straight alliance club. 

'The one thing that stands out about Dennis was that he was able to make everyone else around him stronger,' said Tara Huber, president of the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers and one of Howie's fellow English teachers. 'He encouraged people to believe in themselves and never give up. He expected everyone to give it his all. That is the way he lived his life.' 

During his illness, students and teachers staged various fundraisers including dodge ball tournaments and car washes to raise several thousands of dollars to help pay for Howie's medical treatments, officials said. 

'He had so many friends,' Huber said Tuesday night. 'He always found some way to connect to people. He was definitely one of the good guys.'