He was always looking to make others laugh
Elia Powers
Howard Minder was a master of situational humor.
One time, when he found a toilet sitting in the alley behind his
house, Minder asked his neighbor to snap a picture of him sitting on
the porcelain seat while reading the newspaper.
On another occasion, while he was painting a fence white, he put a
coat on a nearby plant and convinced the family that a wild tropical
plant was growing in the frontyard.
Minder wore Dracula fangs to the dentist and wasn’t afraid to tell
jokes to large groups.
In his 27-page memoir, called “The H. Minder Saga,” he wrote the
following author’s note: “The word ‘I’ used frequently in this
history is not being used in an egotistical sense, but is due to the
author’s limited vocabulary and inability to use alternative methods
to tell this story.”
“He had a great sense of humor,” said Nancy Lewis, Minder’s
daughter. “Sometimes his jokes would be long-winded, but people would
always laugh.”
A longtime Costa Mesa resident, Minder died June 5. He was 90.
Born in Webster, S.D., he moved to Anaheim at the age of 14.
That’s where he met Laurabelle “Bebe” Minder, his future wife.
A well-liked student at Anaheim High School -- he was student body
president -- Minder also had an adventurer side. To get to the 1933
World’s Fair, he jumped aboard a series of trains on his way to
Chicago.
“He used to tell me he put $2 in his shoe and rode the rails with
a friend,” Bebe Minder said.
With a $150 partial scholarship, he attended the University of
Chicago.
After graduation, he worked briefly at Douglas Aircraft before
joining the U.S. Navy. He was a lieutenant during World War II,
stationed in New York, San Diego and Okinawa.
Bebe and Howard were married in 1943. He proposed by telephone
while stationed in New York.
Minder spent more than 30 years as a real estate appraiser at Bank
of America. And he found a good deal on his home: He bought property
in Costa Mesa in 1947 for about $8,950.
By the time he retired in 1977, Minder had earned the title of
assistant vice president at Bank of America.
He stayed active during retirement, volunteering at Friends In
Service to Humanity, an interfaith poverty-relief organization. St.
Andrew’s Presbyterian Church presented Minder with an award for 50
consecutive years of ushering.
Traveling in the family’s trailer, Minder took relatives on
fishing trips throughout California and Nevada. He even took people
back to South Dakota to see his childhood home.
Family members said Minder enjoyed hosting backyard barbecues with
the fire pit he built himself.
Minder enjoyed nature walks through Costa Mesa. He regularly made
trips to Mariners Library, where he read the newspaper and chatted
with city employees.
“He was very laid-back,” Bebe Minder said. “He never had a problem
unwinding.”
Still, Bebe said her husband didn’t like sitting around the house.
He golfed, bowled and rode his bike all over the city.
During Minder’s final years, his children took him on trips to
Santa Barbara and San Diego on Christmas Day.
“He really enjoyed those,” said Laurel Minder, his daughter. “It
was a good chance for him to be with the family.”
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