Wilson Little Funeral Home
Purcell-Newcastle, McClain Co., OK
(permission granted)

Charles Shawn Howell age 46 of OK City, went home to be with His Lord on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 while in Anderson, MO. He was born on April 8, 1966 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Shawn was the oldest of four children born to Jerry Lee Howell and Opal Olive (Kloppenborg) Howell. Shawn grew up in Collins, Iowa where he graduated from high school in 1984 and that same year he moved to Oklahoma City. Shawn had a life changing experience with his Savior, Jesus Christ in the summer of 1987, after attending a Starlite Crusade at the First Southern Baptist Church of Del City. He soon joined the church and started working at the church as a janitor. While growing in his faith, Shawn later started working with the children’s ministry at First Southern. During this time he met a young lady by the name of Marla Kaye Elkins. They fell in love and were later married on May 18, 1991. Together Shawn and Marla made their home in the Midwest City area where they soon started raising their family. Shawn continued working at First Southern while he went to college at UCO. In 1996 he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in business administration. Shawn worked at First Southern for 12 years before moving to Emmaus Baptist Church in 2003. For the next seven years he faithfully served as the Preschool and Children’s Minister. In 2010 he moved to Houston, TX and served as the Associate Children’s Director at the Houston First Baptist Church.

Then in 2011 he felt that God was calling him back to OKC where he became the National Director for Kids Evangelism Explosion, a worldwide division of Evangelism Explosion Ministries. Shawn moved his church membership to the Newcastle First Baptist Church this past year to be close to his wife’s sister and her family. Shawn was ordained in 1997, and as an ordained minister he helped start children’s ministries such as AWANA and Whiz Kids programs in various churches all over and within the Oklahoma Southern Baptist Convention. He was actively involved with the Ministers of Childhood Education of Oklahoma where he served as President of that organization in 2009. He received many awards for his ministry service including, the Darlene Koch Minister of Childhood Education Award in 2009. Shawn made various mission trips overseas to countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, and Fiji. He was a faithful Christian and a godly role model to countless children and youth across this nation. He will be remembered as a faithful and loving husband and a wonderful father to his five children. He loved reading and studying his Bible. He had a passion for working on computers and developing software for the children’s ministries. Most of all, Shawn loved his family and loved spending time with them at home.

He was preceded in death by: Paternal grandparents: Kelly and Esther Howell, Maternal grandparents: Nason and Olive Kloppenborg, His mother: Opal Howell in 2000, Brother: Kyle Howell in 1993, His mother and father-in-law: Evelyn and Bill Elkins,

He is survived by: His wife and five children all of the home in OKC, Marla, Anne, Aaron, Emilie, Katie, and Michael, His father: Jerry Howell of Roland, Iowa, Two sisters: Kammy McHone and husband Mike of Boone, Iowa,Stacy Howell of New Providence, Iowa, One sister-in-law: Joy Clay and husband James of Newcastle, OK. One brother-in-law: Larry Elkins and wife Yolanda of OKC. Also many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and a host of other relatives and friends.

Funeral services will be 1:00 P.M. Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at Emmaus Baptist Church, 16001 S. Western in OKC. Interment will be at the Newcastle Memorial Gardens in Newcastle, OK. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Shawn Howell Family Fund. mail to: Newcastle First Baptist Church, 1650 N. Main, Newcastle, OK. 73065. Funeral arrangements are with Wilson-Little Funeral Home in Newcastle, OK.