Howard Frank Illian, 77 years old, of Pickerington, Ohio, had his final heartbeats while holding his loving wife's hand on January 15, 2023, from Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with a rare BRAF mutation.
Howard was born on October 24, 1945, to Douglas Frank and Julia Boone Illian in Oak Park, Illinois. After Howard graduated from Oak Park River Forest High School in 1963, he went on to earn a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics at Carnegie Institute of Technology (Carnegie Melon University, CMU).
In 1965, Howard met Jeanie Luby at the Delta Upsilon house at CMU. Howard and Jeanie married in 1967 and after graduating from CMU, they moved back to Oak Park, Illinois and went on to have three children, Jeffery, Wendy, and Randy.
In 1968 Howard started his career at Commonwealth Edison in Operations, Statistical and Economic Research, kickstarting a 50-year career in the electrical power industry. When he retired from Commonwealth Edison in 1998, he founded Energy Mark, Incorporated. While at Energy Mark, he was a trailblazer who wrote and published hundreds of research papers regarding the reliability of the energy markets. He worked with multiple local, state, federal, and international organizations, and universities, both public and private. These include, but not limited to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB), Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various state and regional Utility Commissions.  

Howard was not only a leader as an electrical engineer, statistician, and researcher, he was a man who believed you should not only serve your family, but your community and church. He was a loving and devoted brother, husband, father, grandfather, friend, neighbor, coach, teacher, and volunteer. He considered himself a problem solver and found joy in also being an electrician, a plumber, a carpenter, a roofer, a woodworker, and a furniture maker. He was an athlete throughout his life. He was a sprinter, pole vaulter, rugby player, soccer player and an avid golfer. He volunteered as a coach for multiple youth sports organizations including gymnastics, soccer, track, diving, and rugby, where he received numerous awards. He was quite proud of the success his athletes had in their sports as well as their lives after sports. Many of his previous athletes have come back to thank him for the influence he had in their lives. He touched the hearts of many people throughout the years who were always met by his cheerful smile, his sense of humor, his hopeful nature, and his ability to find the best in people and situations.
Besides helping others, he was immensely proud to become a Knight of Columbus at Seton Parish. He loved to play golf as often as possible with the Knights of Columbus Golf League, especially with his brother-in-law, Dave McVay.
Howard was preceded in death by his father Douglas Frank Illian, his mother Julia Boone Illian, his brother Donald Douglas Illian, his daughter-in-law Kari Choi Illian (Jeff), and his grandson Nathan Eli Barrett (Wendy).
He is survived by his wife Jeanie Luby Illian, his children Jeffery Illian, Wendy Illian, and Randy and Robin (Doolittle) Illian, his grandchildren Cobi Patrick Illian, Sabrina Ashley (Illian) and Ryan Bailey, Frankie Courtney-Illian Sparrow, Leonard Daniel Illian and Sequoia Shriver Illian, his great granddaughter Lily Sophia Bailey, his sister-in-law and brother-in-law Janet (Luby) and Dave McVay, their children and grandchildren, and his partners in crime, dogs Bonnie and Clyde.