Juliet Byrd (Howells) Fluke

Juliet (Julie) Byrd Fluke, nee Howells, 84, of Nanticoke and Columbia Crossroads, PA, joined her beloved husband David Walter Fluke, on September 2, 2023. She died peacefully at home, with her son Ed, overlooking her beloved Laurel Lake.

Julie was born April 12, 1939, in Nanticoke, PA, the youngest of four children of Benjamin Franklin Howells and Millicent Haight Howells. She graduated from Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, PA, and Penn State University, where she obtained a degree in Education. She married David Earl Cummings on March 29, 1961, and moved to Hastings Nebraska, where she taught English. They had one child, Edward Elliott Cummings. That marriage ended in 1963. While teaching in Sussex, NJ, Julie met David Fluke, and they wed on October 30, 1965, and moved to Media, PA.

She taught English, Reading, and Spanish at elementary schools in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and volunteered at state parks to teach children about the natural beauty around them. In 1976, Julie moved with her husband David and her son Ed to Laurel Lake in Berrytown, and she taught for the Troy Area School District. She also taught for adult literacy programs in the community, and Sunday school at Berrytown Wesleyan Church.

Julie admired and appreciated the natural world, from cloud formations, to birds, furry critters, and the tiniest insects. She loved animals, rocks and minerals, fossils, and seashells. She was a member of the Che-Hanna Rock & Mineral Club in Sayre and built an extensive collection that she delighted in sharing with everyone, especially children.

She was also an accomplished and award-winning photographer, and sang with perfect pitch in choruses and church choirs. She was intelligent, ever-curious, playful, unique and eclectic, and she loved entertaining children. Julie loved living at Laurel Lake and sharing it with her family and friends. She shared her gratitude, compassion, and joy, and her generous and adventurous nature made her well-liked and loved by many.

Julie was preceded in death by her husband David Fluke, and by her three brothers, Benjamin, David, and Roger. She is survived by her son Edward Cummings, sisters-in-law Esther (David) Howells, Amelia (Roger) Howells, and by many nieces, nephews, and friends who will miss her very much.

There will be a memorial service and celebration of Julie’s life on Saturday September 30th at 3:00 pm, at Berrytown Wesleyan Church, 178 Burt Road, Gillett, PA 16925. The Gerald W. Vickery, Jr. Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc. 1093 W Main St., Troy, PA has been entrusted with arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Allen F. Pierce Free Library, 34 Fenner Ave. Troy, PA 16947.