A week after celebrating their son’s college graduation, Patty and Tim Howard were holding the 22-year-old in their arms as he took his last breath due to anaphylaxis. Timothy (Timmy) who had a peanut allergy, died after eating a candy bar that had cross-contact with peanut.
He had missed the “may contain” warning that was printed on the candy bar’s label before buying it for a late-night snack, his parents say. The snack triggered a severe, fatal reaction that happened extremely fast.
Timmy was hunched over, struggling to breathe, and already starting to turn blue when he woke his parents for help shortly after midnight, his dad Tim Howard says. Despite his parents administering three EpiPens, along with EMS personnel’s attempts to revive him, Timmy died on May 24, 2025.
“His last words to us were, ‘I love you guys,’ then we lost him,” Tim Howard tells Allergic Living. Timmy is also survived by his sister Julia, 24.
Now, the Howard family wants Timmy’s tragic death to help educate others about food allergies.
“Our goal is to spread awareness of our tragedy, so that we can perhaps help another family not go through this,” mom Patty Howard says.
Food-Allergic Grad’s Legacy
Timmy was “always smiling and always there for everyone else,” Tim Howard says. Now his parents hope his story will continue to help others.
After his passing, Timmy’s Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brothers at the University of Rhode Island (URI) shared stories with his family about how he always helped a brother in need. He graduated from URI in May 2025 with a communications degree.
His fraternity brothers have set up a fund to help others with food allergies in his memory. They have already raised over $28,000 in their friend’s name to support the food allergy nonprofit FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education).
“His unexpected passing has left a profound void, but we are committed to honoring his memory in a way that brings purpose and change,” they wrote on the Give a Hand fundraising site.
In addition, Timmy’s parents want others to know about the importance of being an organ donor. By donating his organs, their son has helped other lives, including a sick teenage boy who now has his heart, his mom says.
“In Timmy’s final act, he’s helping others and he’s making us proud,” Patty Howard says.
Educating with Timmy Howard’s Story
The Howards want others to know their son’s food allergy story. He had navigated his allergy to peanuts, along with asthma, since he was a little boy.
Timmy and his family were well-versed in reading labels, carrying epinephrine auto-injectors and asking about ingredients in food, his mom says. His sister Julia also is allergic to peanuts, as well as tree nuts. His mom ran a food allergy support group when the kids were young to help raise awareness in their community.
“Now Timmy’s part of the statistics. I never thought I’d say that,” Patty Howard tells Allergic Living.
She wants other allergy parents to keep stressing facts about how to safely navigate food allergies with their children, even as they get older.
She pointed to the higher risk of severe, fatal allergic reactions for teens and young adults. These are ages where kids might become embarrassed or don’t want to be a bother because of their food allergies, Patty Howard says.
She urges others to “really just sit and talk, and maybe talk about Timmy.”
Speed of Timmy Howard’s Reaction
The young man was in the comfort of his own home in Brewster, Massachusetts, when a late-night snack turned tragic. The candy bar he brought home to eat was not one of his go-to snacks, Patty Howard says.
His parents don’t know whether Timmy consumed the entire bar, his mom says.
The Howards say Timmy’s phone activity suggests the speed of this anaphylactic reaction. His phone tracked him Google-searching unrelated topics at 12:12 a.m., then he must have started reacting and soon appeared in his parents’ room. His anaphylactic reaction progressed swiftly to his airways closing, his dad says.
When he woke his parents up in distress, “He was already turning blue. This is how quickly it happens,” Tim Howard says. They acted right away, calling 911 at 12:31, giving him three EpiPen doses, and then attempting CPR.
When the ambulance arrived to take Timmy to the hospital, he was blue, his airways were completely constricted and his blood pressure had dropped, his dad says. Attempts to revive him at the hospital were unsuccessful.
The speed in which his reaction turned fatal was alarming. Patty Howard thinks an asthma flare-up likely contributed to the severity of her son’s reaction. The area’s tree pollen triggered Timmy’s asthma, and he had used his inhaler earlier in the day.
‘Blessed to Have Had Him‘
But the Howards are not focusing on the “what-ifs” regarding why he didn’t read the candy label or his asthma. And they are not blaming anyone. They just want to help others by ensuring that people understand that, as FARE says: “Food allergy is not a diet, it’s a disease.”
As Timmy’s family works to raise awareness about food allergies in his memory, they are comforted by the countless stories about their son with the infectious smile.
“We were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who have reached out, and came to the services,” Tim Howard says.
His Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brothers wrote, “He truly was one of the good ones – gentle, thoughtful, and full of love for others.”
He loved hanging out with his fraternity brothers, along with other friends and cousins, according to his obituary.
Timmy is also remembered as someone who loved sports, especially ice hockey. He also enjoyed dancing, family vacations, and having long talks with his sister on the beach, the obituary says.
His sister sang a song for her baby brother during the service celebrating Timmy’s life.
“It was a beautiful sendoff. We wanted a fun celebration for him,” Patty Howard says. “We’re so blessed to have had him for 22 years.”
Related Reading:
20-Year-Old Dies of Peanut Allergy He Didn’t Know He Had
When a Punchline Can Kill: Trouble That Lurks in Allergy Jokes
Allergic Living’s Food Allergy Awareness Posters
