Obituaries

Howard M. Mora passed away peacefully at 10:20 am on April 27, 2016, in Fremont, California. He was 46. Howard was born April 6, 1970, in Skokie, Illinois, to Bruce and Freya (Rudnick) Mora. He is survived by his wife, Gretchen (Murawski) Mora, his children Elijah and Forrest Mora, his brother, Lowell Mora, his sister-in-law Jo Ann Mora, his three nieces, Samantha, Sarah and Isabel Mora, his Aunt, Lois Fine, and cousins Mark Fine, Hal Fine, Ron Fine, Michael Fine, Barb Kulinsky and Ray Feldman. He was preceded in death by his father, Bruce Mora, his mother, Freya Mora, his aunt, Natalie Klapman and his grandparents, Charles and Eleanor Rudnick.

Howard attended school in Des Plaines, Illinois, and graduated in the class of 1988 from Maine East High School. He was the Illinois State Student Council Treasurer and was active in symphony and the swim team. He attended Duke University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and graduated in 1992 with a Bachelors Degree in Biomedical Engineering. He was active in the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. He continued his education by earning his Masters Degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in 1994. There he met his wife, Gretchen (Murawski) Mora. They were married on May 19, 1996, in Altadena, California. Howard earned several computer technology certificates and switched careers to focus on software quality assurance. He worked for various companies in Los Angeles until he and his wife moved to northern California in 1998. While working full-time, Howard became active in politics and ran for Congress in 2000 as the Libertarian candidate for his district. He enjoyed campaigning and challenging the other candidates in debates. In 2003, with the birth of his first son, Elijah, Howard left his employment and became the primary director of operations of The Animal Nanny Pet Sitting business that his wife had started in 2001. While working as a pet sitter, Howard increased the service area and number of contractors, and gained a reputation as a good and reliable owner and operator. His second son, Forrest, was born in 2005. Howard and his wife decided to sell the pet sitting business in 2008. Howard took a long-deserved break and returned to QA management in the spring of 2009. He worked for several years at Stitcher and began specializing in QA of mobile applications. Howard also worked for Nokia, Deezer, and finally at AltSchool in San Francisco. Howard’s hobbies were fighting red-light camera traffic violations, volunteering at the Fremont Animal Shelter, embroidery, and tracking the precious metals market. He also enjoyed vacations with his family to Disney World and Disneyland. He was active in his sons’ Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop, serving as Treasurer and Equipment Manager, respectively.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity that makes a difference in the lives of people or animals. Give blood when you can, and look for the good in all people. Howard would appreciate that.

A reception will be held on Sunday, May 1st, from 1-5pm at Fremont Memorial Chapel, 3723 Peralta Blvd., Fremont, CA 94536.