LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — , a longtime reporter for The Associated Press who became correspondent in Lincoln, has died.

His wife, Cynthia, told the local media that he died on Tuesday in Lincoln after a lengthy illness. He was 63.

Howard was born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1948. He joined the AP in 1968, working in Columbus and Cincinnati before moving to New York City. He transferred to Omaha in 1971 and was named correspondent in Lincoln in 1974. He left the AP in the mid-1990s.

In recent years, Howard wrote for the online StatePaper.com and authored columns for the Nebraska Press Association. NPA executive director Allen Beermann says Howard was a “wonderful writer and a true wordsmith.”

Howard is survived by his wife and two children.

Funeral services are pending.