Howard Decker

Howard Decker, 90 of Sun City Center, FL, formerly of Mattoon, was called home by his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on April 1, 2026, in Sun City Center, FL. Funeral arrangements are pending this time. Mitchell-Jerdan Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. He was born on December 27, 1935, in Mattoon. A son of Frank and Reba Blanche Strohl Decker. He married Eleanor (Ellie) Eastwood in 1963 in Normal. She died in 2012. In 2015 he married Doris Trayner Carey, who survives. Also surviving are one stepson, Michael Carey (Donna) of Palmetto, FL, and one stepdaughter, Katrina Williams (Tom) of Apollo Beach, FL. Howard was preceded in death by his parents, one brother and two sisters. Howard was a 1954 graduate of Mattoon High School and also earned both bachelors and masters degrees from Eastern Illinois University. In the late 1950s he served as sports editor of the Mattoon Journal-Gazette and in the 1960s was chairman of the English department at East Peoria Community High School and later Morton High School. From 1974 until 1995 he was president of Spectrum Educational Media, Inc., and also founded Spectrum Printing in Mattoon. Prior to that, he wrote and photographed for various New York and Chicago educational publishers and authored the textbook “Newspaper Workshop,” published by Globe Book Company of New York. He was a member of Trinity Baptist Church of Sun City Center, where he served as church clerk, chairman of the body of deacons, and a Bible Study teacher. For nearly 40 years he was a member of First United Methodist Church of Mattoon and was also a member of Mattoon Golf and Country Club for 25 years. For two years he served as an Emergency Medical Responder on the Sun City Center Emergency Squad ambulances. In lieu of flowers, friends may make a memorial contribution in his memory to Trinity Baptist Church of Sun City Center, First United Methodist Church of Mattoon, or Lincolnland Hospice at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. Please visit www.mitchell-Jerdan.com or www.facebook.com/mitchelljerdanfuneralhome to light a virtual candle in his honor or share a memory with the family.

Tributes

Howard Decker

December 27, 1935 - April 1, 2026