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Letter to the editor

Family man never gave in, even after head trauma

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published November 16, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Howard Ullian died Monday after suffering a stroke. He was 81. [Family photo]

ST. PETERSBURG - It was 1999. Howard Ullian was walking his collie, Major, when a car ran into them. Mr. Ullian fell right to the ground.

Head trauma lasted for years. But he turned down medication, aside from Tylenol - he didn't want to be doped up. Through the tears and the pain, he'd hypnotize himself.

Clarity, he'd say. Concentration. I will not give in. I will not give in.

* * *

As a boy in New York, his family assigned him to kill the Thanksgiving turkey. But Mr. Ullian couldn't do it. One year, he hid 10 turkeys in a barn and fed them.

He was a prankster. He placed a bucket of green paint over the door, and when his family walked through....

He was a volunteer firefighter and a soldier. He didn't go to college, but he knew instinctively how to do calculus and geometry.

When he showed up instead of his brother on a blind date, he met Florence. They were opposites, and sizzled with chemistry.

They had two kids, one right after the other. In 1961, he moved to Florida and started a furniture business with his brother.

* * *

It was 1969. Mr. Ullian was 43. His wife was 39.

They were pregnant with a third baby. The family furniture business was dissolving.

Soon, Mr. Ullian got a job designing boat cushions with Gulfstar Yachts, his family said. He was good at it - he could figure out measurements by eyeballing a boat.

He struggled to support three kids. He worked nights and weekends, pulling in overtime.

I will not give in.

* * *

When his daughter brought ducks home, Mr. Ullian would hide them from his wife in the bathtub. Once, they hid a duck for a whole month by moving it around in a box.

He pulled pranks on his co-workers. He'd take their stuff and hide it, or do impressions.

He believed he had ESP -he predicted that his daughter would give birth to twin girls. A year later, she called - there were two babies in her belly, both girls.

"He was laughing hysterically, because he knew," said Stacey Wilson, 38.

Every morning, he walked 2 miles, picked up his neighbors' newspapers and placed them on their doorsteps.

He still kissed his wife good morning, still opened doors. He cooked for his family - potato salad, seafood gumbo, Danish.

Sunday, his body felt weak. He made rack of lamb for his family.

Monday, he died after suffering a stroke. He was 81.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

BIOGRAPHY

Howard Ullian

Born: June 29, 1926.

Died: Nov. 12, 2007.

Survivors: wife, Florence; son Roy; daughters, Lori Frederick, and Stacey Wilson and her husband Greg; brother, Bert; sister, Gladys; five grandchildren.

[Last modified November 15, 2007, 23:53:04]