Midlothian Man, 48, Donates Organs After Dying Of Cardiac Arrest

MIDLOTHIAN, IL — A Midlothian woman and Oak Forest High School alum will soon celebrate her 21st birthday, but without her biggest fan. Her father, 48-year-old Daniel Howard, died Oct. 14 after suffering a cardiac arrest while at work.

"My family and friends said he was planning on surprising me and taking me out," said Rosemary Regan-Howard.

The family is now grieving Howard, who they described as the kindest person with the warmest personality. He always put family first, his daughter said, so it's no surprise he had something special in mind for her big day.

"He would waste the last of his paycheck just to get me something nice," she said. "He put everyone before himself."

Howard was on the job as a driver with Airline Towing when he began experiencing chest pain. He was taken to Ingalls Memorial Hospital, his family learned hours later. His heart had stopped three times en route, doctors told them. He suffered cardiac failure, and within hours, doctors declared him brain-dead, Rosemary said.

But her father was generous beyond measure, she added, and he had designated himself as an organ donor. Three days later, on Oct. 17, Howard was escorted on his honor walk, after which he donated his liver, kidneys, eyes, tissue and stem cells.

"He would be so happy that he was able to give that much," Rosemary wrote on a GoFundMe for the family.

"It is complete," wrote his wife Kelly Howard. "Dan has given life to others. He will live on through them and his children."

Her father would have been so proud that his choice had helped so many, Rosemary said, and his family finds some solace in knowing the same.

"It made me and my mom really happy, because that was how my dad was," Rosemary said. "He was a very giving person. He would give the shirt off his back to anybody—the last dollar in his pocket."

Two years earlier, Howard had been previously diagnosed with Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure, but none of them knew the true extent of it, Rosemary said.

Kelly and Howard met when she was 15 and he was 16, and had just celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary. Together they had three children—one daughter and two sons. They faced trying circumstances as a family, always anchored by Howard's optimism and undaunted drive to do everything he could to keep his family happy and safe.

"He was a great dad," Rosemary said. "We had a very financially hard life over these past few years, and that’s what made him a great dad — he did everything he could to make sure we stayed on top of bills, made ends meet."

Even still, she said, he found a way to help others.

"He would give the last dollar out of his pocket to help someone on the street," she said.

His positivity and levity made him "a big kid," his daughter wrote in the GoFundMe.

"He was an optimist, he could make everyone laugh," she told Patch. "He could literally talk to a tree stump, we say that all the time."

Her father did not have life insurance, and she started the GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses. They are awaiting his cremated remains and will plan services at a later time.

His employer Airline will lead his funeral procession with a tow-truck caravan.

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