Howard Richard Kern, 87, of Lumberton was born October 7, 1926 in Beaumont Texas to Jules and Ollie Mae Kern and passed away at his residence on August 3, 2014.

Mr. Kern retired as a 20 year veteran of the US Navy and US Army and served during WWII and Vietnam. Following his military service, he retired from the K-Mart Corporation.

He was preceded in death by his son, Earl Kern. He is survived by 2 sons and daughters-in-law, Wayne and Brenda Kern, Richard and Sherry Kern; daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Fred Chauvin; daughter, Veronica Rapozo; granddaughters, Rebecca, Lisa, Kimberley, Morgan, Tami, Tonya, and Trena; grandsons, Christopher, Michael, Brian, Alec and Adam; and numerous great-grandchildren, nephews and nieces.

A memorial committal service with military honors will be held on Tuesday, August 12th at 1:30 p.m. in the Veteran’s National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans’ Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas.