Traci Lynn Howell

Traci Adams Howell, 60, passed away April 25, 2025, with family nearby.

Traci was born on August 7, 1964, to Gerald and Jullee Adams, the second of four children. She attended elementary at the Mayview School, then junior high and high school at Odessa. She graduated from OHS in 1982. While there, she loved playing sports and was well known as a fierce competitor on the softball diamond as a catcher and enforcer. She also was a great sprinter in track, specifically the hurdles, in which she still holds a school record. After high school, she married John Boydston, also of Odessa, together they had two children, Jenni and Phillip. She was beyond proud of her kids and took an active role as a classroom mom for school parties and as a coach for several basketball, softball, and track teams. She also gladly sewed many Halloween costumes, baked elaborate birthday cakes each year, and was famous for making her giant hamburgers with cheese in the middle for many friends, family, and once for the entire high school football team.

Traci could regularly be seen working on the farm operating tractors or grain trucks and often in the early years with two kids in the cab, and almost always wearing shorts and sandals. For many years she was the main tractor operator for a custom hay baling business in the area, something of which she was immensely proud. On the farm she always had a love for newborn livestock or any creature needing TLC. She could often be found bottle feeding a whole pen of baby lambs, calves, kittens, or even wild rabbits and deer. Traci was also an expert at all parts of raising hogs and made handling them look easy. Caring for animals was a passion she carried all her life and took pride in never having a skinny dog or cat that was not fat.

Traci later took her love of sewing and developed an embroidery and t-shirt printing business which she operated for many years in downtown Odessa. She also enjoyed helping the community, having joined the Odessa Puddle Jumper Committee for two terms and she spoke highly of the friendships made during that time.

In 2010, she married Rob Howell and transitioned back into full-time farm duty. On their farms in the Windsor and Warsaw area, they raised cattle, sheep, and hogs. Traci carried on with baking and making canned goods. Later they added dairy cattle, which she hand milked daily. Together they sold raw milk, dairy products, baked goods, and meat to a large list of customers throughout the state. She also had a passion for canning vegetables from their large garden and making preserves with extra fruits and vegetables for family use.

After a tragic car accident in 2016, Traci lost the use of both her legs and arms. With her strong will, mental strength, and grit she persevered and learned a new way of life, choosing to make the most of it, with her husband by her side. Traci learned to operate her phone and computer with a mouth stick and continued to work for Ozark Valley Farms by scheduling appointments, advertising, and ordering supplies one click at a time. Her love of the farm never wavered and with her automatic door opener and electric wheelchair she could regularly be seen

watching the animals graze and birds feed from her porch. She was known for cruising through the barn lot to have a closer look at something and occasionally getting so off-road she would need her wheelchair pulled out after it got stuck.

Traci was also one of the proudest grandmas and loved being “Memaw” to all her grandkids. She was always thrilled to get pictures and videos of her grandkids in action and loved attending parties and games when she could. She enjoyed going above and beyond by getting help to make gift baskets with homemade candies and treats, along with handmade crafts. And she was always good for a surprise Amazon box on the porch, addressed to the grandkids.

Traci throughout her adversity also showed that she never lost her faith or her strong will, both of which make her loved ones proud.

Survived by: Husband, Rob Howell. Her children Jenni (Michael) Moore, Phillip (Ashley) Boydston, Jacob (Ayla) Howell, Aaron (Kelsey) Howell, Zack Howell, and Eli Howell. Grandkids, Anson, Gentry, Titus, Lucas, Campbell Moore. Everly and Wade Boydston. Izabelle,

Zoey, Amiyah, Phoenyx, Keidyn, and Annabelle Howell. Lifelong friend, John Boydston. Her mother, Jullee Adams, her siblings Annie Creason (George) and Matt Adams (Lindsey), many nieces and nephews, and several cousins in Iowa.

She was preceded in death by: Her father, Gerald Adams and older sister, Kris Adams Moore.

A celebration of life will be held from 4:00 to 8:00p.m., Friday, May 16, 2025, at the fellowship hall of Mount Tabor United Methodist Church 12507 Mt Tabor Road, Odessa, MO 64076. It will be a casual event with a whole roast hog and good memories shared. Memorial donations can be made to Brandon United Methodist Church of Windsor and Odessa Puddle Jumper Days Organization. In lieu of flowers for the family, consider the donation of fruit saplings and bushes, or canning supplies to keep her love of homesteading and food preservation carried on. Memories of Traci and condolences for her family may be left at www.LedfordFamilyFH.com or on our Facebook Page. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Ralph O. Jones Funeral Home, 306 S. 2nd St., Odessa, MO, 64076, 816-633-5524.