Lance Howard

Lance Howard Maynard of West Haven, Connecticut, entered eternal rest on September 17, 2026, at the age of 72.

Lance was born on November 15, 1953, to Ralph Maynard and Joyce Girard. He grew up in Ansonia, Connecticut, surrounded by family, love, and community. He graduated from Ansonia High School, where his vibrant personality, generous heart, and caring spirit made a lasting impression on those around him. Although life took him to Las Vegas, Nevada for a time, where he built a career in the culinary industry, West Haven was where he spent most of his adult life and called home.

Lance had a passion for cooking and was a gifted chef. During his time in Las Vegas, he worked at the MGM Hotel, gaining experience in the culinary world. He later brought his talents back home to Connecticut, working professionally at Yale New Haven Hospital, operating food trucks, and sharing his love of cooking with others. In the 1990s, he also had the opportunity to cook at the historic Hot Peas & Butter Jazz Club in New Haven.

Lance was a man of many talents and many chapters. Over the years, he worked in contracting and various other trades, always finding a way to provide for himself and those he loved. But one of his greatest passions was fishing. He was a professional fisherman who found peace, purpose, and joy on the water.

Fishing was more than a hobby for Lance. It became a way for him to connect with young people and give back to his community. He taught many young men how to fish, offering them his time, his knowledge, and a positive outlet. To Lance, being there for the next generation meant helping them see that there were other paths and possibilities for their lives. His lessons extended far beyond the water.

Lance will be remembered for his big personality, his hardworking spirit, his love of food and fishing, and most of all, the way he showed up for the people he cared about. He had a way of leaving an impression, and his stories, laughter, lessons, and love will continue to live on through the many lives he touched.

Lance leaves to cherish his memory his loving children, Tynisha Moody-Abdallah (Manaf), Charmaine Maynard, and Jerrod Maynard and grandchildren Tyson Rembert and Christian Candelario. He is also survived by his siblings, Roxanne Stovall, Christine Maynard, William Barnett, Gary Barnett, Jonathan Barnett (Teri), David Barnett, and Pete Manning, along with a host of loving aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends.

To so many people, Lance was simply known as “Uncle Lance.” That name was not limited to his biological nieces and nephews. Throughout his life, he opened his heart and his home to so many bonus nieces and nephews, loving and treating them as his own. He had a way of making people feel like family, whether they were connected by blood or simply by love. For many, “Uncle Lance” was more than a name it was a relationship, a source of laughter, guidance, support, and unconditional love.

He was predeceased by his beloved parents, Ralph Maynard and Joyce Girard, as well as his siblings Ralph Maynard, Craig Maynard, Anthony Maynard, and Ronald Maynard, and his beloved bonus daughter and niece, Niya Maynard, whom he loved dearly as his own.

Though Lance's earthly journey has come to an end, his legacy lives on through his children, his family, his bonus nieces and nephews, the young people he mentored, the people he fed, the friends he made, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. His life was filled with many chapters, but the greatest part of his story will always be the love he gave and the lives he touched.

Funeral Services

Calling hour will be held on Saturday October 3, 2026, from 12pm to 1pm at Colonial Funerals, 86 Circular Avenue, Hamden, CT. The funeral service will begin at 1pm. Condolences may be expressed at Colonialfunerals.com.

Lance will be deeply missed, lovingly remembered, and forever carried in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.