Colonel Howard Katsumi Sonoda, 78, of Amherst, Massachusetts passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 2, 2021. 

            He was married to Sybilla Sonoda for 46 years and is survived by his daughter, Soleil Sonoda, his step-son, Alexander Predel as well as a grandson, Maxim Predel-DeBuhr.

            Howard was born on November 29, 1942 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  His father, Dick Katsushi Sonoda, was a railroad worker and his mother, Kimiko Egami Sato, was a domestic helper.  According to Howard’s classmates, he was known for his preternatural ability to free-hand sketch anything. In 1965, Howard earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii. While there, he participated in the Air Force Reserves Officers’ Training Corps (AFROTC). Following college graduation, Howard began his Air Force career commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He served in various roles from being a Squadron Supply Operations Officer General  at Northeast Cape Air Force Station on Saint Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, to being a Director of Logistics at Sembach Air Base in West Germany. In 1968, Howard met his wife Sybilla as a Captain stationed at Wunstorf Air Station in West Germany. After getting married in November 1972, he spent the last 20 years of his Air Force career serving in various roles such as being an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1976-1979), military attaché to Luftwaffe High Command (1980-1983), and being an American liaison to Allied Command of West Berlin (1983-1986).            

             In 1975, Howard earned his MBA in Business Administration from The Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1992, Howard retired from the Air Force after serving for 27 years and made the decision to return to Amherst, Massachusetts. In 1996, Howard earned his MS in accounting from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He worked for H&R Block and the IRS as a CPA. Howard was active in Amherst town meetings and participated in parent activities with Amherst Public schools.  He was an avid reader of history and science fiction, and he took great pleasure in dining out with friends and family.  Howard’s final wish was to be in the company of his daughter. He passed away without pain and without fuss. Memorial guestbook at www.douglassfuneral.com