Caroline Hall Ater Howard was born in Abilene, Texas, on February 20, 1934. She passed away on November 1, 2026. Caroline was a 1952 graduate of Abilene High School and a magna cum laude graduate of Hardin- Simmons University in Abilene, receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1955.

On November 24, 1955, she married Gene Ater in Abilene. In 1956, they moved to Dallas where Caroline was employed by Mobil Oil Company while her husband attended law school at SMU. In 1961, Caroline and Gene moved to Odessa. She was an active member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Odessa, serving on various committees. Caroline also served on the Board of Trustees of Landsun Homes, Inc., a retirement community of the United Methodist Church.

She was also an officer and board member of many civic and cultural organizations in Odessa. Caroline was past president of Americana Stud Club, The Odessa Forum, Odessa Book Club, Ector County Law Wives Club, Ector County Democratic Women’s Club, and Odessa Rotary Anns. She was a former board member of the Permian Basin Rehabilitation Center, Crystal Ball Foundation, Odessa Symphony Association, and the Advisory Board of the Art Institute for the Permian Basin, now Ellen Noel Art Museum.

Caroline was a member of the task force that organized the Meals on Wheels program in Odessa, serving as vice-president of the first board. She served on the steering committee of the Texans’ War on Drugs, the New Town Odessa Community Development Task Force, and the task force that established the Rape Crisis Center in Odessa. She enjoyed and supported the fine arts. Caroline had been a member of the Odessa Symphony Guild, Fiesta del arte, and Odessa Cultural Council.

From 1970 to 1972, she was employed as executive secretary of the Midland-Odessa Symphony & Chorale, Inc. She was employed as executive secretary of the Art Institute for the Permian Basin (Ellen Noel Art Museum) from 1983 to 1985.

When Judge Ater retired in 1992 to become a Senior District Judge, they moved to Tyler and made their home on Lake Tyler East. In Tyler, Caroline was an active member of Pollard United Methodist Church, serving on a number of boards and committees. She had served as a board member and officer of several organizations in Tyler, including the Smith County Lawyers Auxiliary, Tyler Women’s Forum, Newcomers Club of Tyler, and the Afternoon Literary Group. She was a driver for the Meals on Wheels program for a number of years and served as an office volunteer for the Tyler Museum of Art.

After Judge Ater’s death in 2002, Caroline returned to Odessa in 2004 and on June 23, 2004, she married James M. Howard, owner of Permian Claim Service of Odessa. Jim was a life-long friend of Judge Ater and was a groomsman in the Ater wedding in 1955. After her return to Odessa, Caroline was a member of First United Methodist Church.

Caroline and Gene Ater participated in bass tournament fishing at lakes throughout the state as members of the Permian Bass Club. After she married Jim, she shared his love of motorcycles and rode as a passenger with him on his Harley-Davidson. Both Caroline and Jim enjoyed dancing and belonged to several dance clubs. Caroline, along with Jim, were also avid football fans of the Permian High School Panthers.

Caroline was preceded in death by her parents, Thelma Young Hall and Elmon Hall, brother, Joe F. Hall, and Gene Ater, her husband of 46 years, and Jim Howard her husband of 19 years. She is survived by her daughter Sandra Petrick and son-in-law Jimmy Petrick, both of Tyler, Texas, granddaughter Taylor Wilson and grandson Hunter Petrick, sister-in-law Carole Hall, and brother-in-law Jim Ater, and several nieces and nephews.

At a later date, the family will have a Celebration of Life service at the family lake home near Tyler, Texas.