OXFORD – Brent Hagan Howe died Jan. 21, doing one of the things he loved. His death was the result of a snowmobile accident on Hogan Pond in Oxford last Wednesday night.

He was born in Houlton, on Oct. 14, 1956, the son of Philip and Carol Hagan Howe. Even though he moved to Poland in 1981, he and his family returned to the County often and were very close to his family there.

On Aug. 15, 1981, he married Shellie Lucas. They made their home on Tripp Lake in Poland and together they transformed their summer camp into a welcoming year round home which is often filled with friends and neighbors. In addition to the makeover of the camp, he added a garage – and not just any garage – it was “Brent’s garage.”

While he enjoyed working on cars and all things mechanical, he undeniably savored spending time in the garage, nothing was more important to him than his family and his three boys. He was a dedicated stay at home dad for many years and made sure Jason, Jared and Jamie always had what they needed.

At the time of his death, he was employed with Autowerkes Maine in Freeport. He enjoyed his work immensely and thought of his co-workers as his extended “family.” He will be greatly missed there.

He was a dear friend and he touched many lives. His quick wit and sense of humor will be greatly missed. He loved to tease and joke around and at the same time was very sensitive and caring – always willing to lend a hand. As a loyal Yamaha rider, he never missed an opportunity to tease Arctic Cat owners! And he wouldn’t hesitate to drop what he was doing to come to the aid of his friends regardless of their snowmobile affiliations.

He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Shellie; his three sons, Jason Marshall of Houlton, Jared Payne of Gardiner and Jamison Hagan of Poland; his parents of Houlton; a grandson, Jaxon Daniel of Houlton; a sister, Barbara Hogan and her husband, Galen, of Houlton; a brother, Philip “Mark” Howe and his wife, Sylvia, of Great Pond; nieces and nephews, Kevin, Karen, John, Elizabeth, Matthew, Scott, Kat and Kelsie; many other aunts, uncles and cousins including “Cousin Fred,” close friends, Ron Ames, Chuck Gagnon, and Steve Vining, his Autowerkes family in Freeport and Rosie, “the best dog we never had.”

He was predeceased by his big sister, Rosemary Howe Elliott; and his granddad, Fred P. Hagan.

His family would like to thank Chuck and Matt Gagnon for being on the trail with Brent for his last ride.