Howard was the sixth child born to Frank Lewis and Sarah Ann Britton Cade. He was born in Trinity Center on 28 December 1905. Howard and his family moved around a lot to accommodate both work and school. They mostly spent the winters in and around Fresno but always came back to Trinity for the summers.

When Howard was in his twenties he met and married Delma Joy Coumbs. They became the parents of Joy Nadiene Cade on 24 June 1930. Soon after Delma's parents had the marriage annulled and Howard was prevented from seeing his daughter for many years.

During WWII, even though Howard was 36 years old, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He rose to the rank of Corporal.

On 22 March 1944 Howard married a widow, Gwendolyn Rae Byerley Dysert. Together they would raise a son, Howard Ray Cade, born 18 September 1947.

Howard worked at a little bit of everything during his life, and there simply wasn't much he couldn't do or figure out how to do. He mined as a younger man, drove trucks of all kinds, and finally retired from the Trinity County Road Department. During his retirement he remodeled his house, from the ground up!

Howard was a gentle, soft-spoken man. My mother, his youngest sister, told the story of once when Howard was the only one bringing in an income, he looked around the table at the younger children, looked at the amount of food available for which he had paid, then he left the table and didn't eat so the young ones could fill their bellies. He was that kind of man.

He died on 8 January 1979. After telling Gwen he just didn't feel well, he drove himself to the doctor in Weaverville. The doctor immediately put him in the hospital where he died just hours later.

He loved the Trinity Center area and lived there most of his life. He left his wife, Gwen; two daughters, Nadine Cade Urich of Sacramento and Frances Dysert Benfield of Red Bluff. He was also survived by his brothers Bill of Salina, Kansas, and Frank of Redding. He left behind four sisters; Anna Jones of Arcata, California, Vivian Spinola and Hazel Willis of Redding, and Camille Weisgerber of Palo Cedro. He was preceded in death by a son, Howard Ray Cade.