Howard L. Chen

Howard Lee Chen, 74, of North Barrington, passed away on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.

Howard was born in China and grew up in Taiwan before coming to the United States. He earned a BS in electrical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and worked in the power tool industry.

He was an extremely devoted and loving family man. Providing support and guidance to his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews was of utmost importance to him.

He was the “fix-it” man. When something stopped working, he took on the challenge of fixing it himself. He was also a “go-to” person, helping others with their home projects. Whenever a friend called, he dropped what he was doing and went to help.

Howard was curious and loved learning from books, lectures and travel. He loved talking with others about their ideas and opinions and never shied away from a good debate.

Howard is survived by his wife of 52 years, Rose; children, Caroline Chen and Jonathan Chen (Catherine Barsoum); grandchildren, Sylvie Chen and Gabriel Chen; and siblings, Deanna (Sam) Mah, Thomas Chen, and Roland Chen.  He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Lydia Chen; and sister, Gloria Hsu.

No services will be held at this time. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Doctors Without Borders or a charity of your choice.