During a span of approximately twenty years, Howard went into business partnership with Jude Kerr and ex-governor William Rainey Marshall He also twice held the position of editor of the West Publishing Company, a business that created law publications, a few of which he wrote himself. Howard died suddenly at age 52 on December 1, 1899. His body was taken back to Washington, D.C. for burial in the Congressional Cemetery. His grave was unmarked for years until his Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity furnished a bronze plaque in his memory.