Howard Eugene Pearson

Howard Eugene Pearson, age 86, left this earth peacefully on January 15, 2017 in Reno Nevada, with his family by his side. Howard was born on March 16, 1930 in Portland, Oregon, the 7^th of eight children born to Clinton and Bessie (White) Pearson.

Howard attended the Foursquare Church in Portland with his family. He worked at many and varied jobs in Portland while growing up. In 1949 he married, and by 1952 he, his wife and first child, moved to southern California, where he put his many talents to use. He worked in a machine shop and soon had his own shop, Pearson Photographics in Burbank, California. Howard was a mechanical engineer, and designed and built custom camera accessories for the motion picture industry, including Disney, and many others. He designed, manufactured and sold the Pearson Fluid Head, an improvement on existing camera tripod mounts. Howard built a camera truck, complete with lights, booms, platforms and generator. His truck, with he as the driver, were hired by many production companies to go on location for commercial and movie filming.

Howard will be remembered as a kind, generous person, always wanting to help others. He loved to tinker in his shop, to think of better ways to build things, and to travel. Howard loved the coast and the mountains. He loved his family, cars and sports. He was an enthusiastic and skilled bowler, and for many years belonged to a league, traveling with them to compete in tournaments in Las Vegas, Reno and beyond. He was fond of animals and always had a dog or three.

Howard and his partner Dianne left California and returned to Oregon in 2004. Last October, Howard moved to Susanville, California to live with one of his daughters.

He was preceded in death by his first wife and the mother of his children, Mary (Blalock) Hayes; his 2^nd wife Louise (Samuel) Pearson; his life partner Dianne Kolodiej; his parents; his brothers Clinton Jr. and Robert;  his five sisters, Louise Portin, Norma Mourer, Gladys Johnson, Patricia Radar and Darlene van Bladeren; and a great-granddaughter, Ahlyja Pinson.

Howard leaves behind his three children; Jan (and her husband Alex) Salsbery; Rachele (and her husband Clark) Hemphill; and Steve Pearson; seven grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren, a 2nd great-grandson and numerous nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life in Portland will be announced at a later date. Remembrances can be left at La Paloma Funeral Services, https://lapalomafuneralservices.com/