Your Silent Neighbor
by David K. Leff
Canton Town Historian

Howard V. Follert (1896-1960) was born in Collinsville, attended local schools and Huntsinger Business College in Hartford. During World War I, he started working in the Collins Company forging department as a clerk. In 1920, he took a transfer to the main office and was appointed assistant secretary-treasurer in 1941. In 1953 he was appointed secretary-treasurer, a post he held until his death.

Follert lived at 162 Hill Street. He was a member of the Village Lodge of Masons, Trinity Episcopal Church, and the Cawasa Grange. His death at Hartford Hospital followed a long illness, and the family’s suggestion that donations be made to the Heart Fund suggests he had cardiac problems.

Funeral services were held at the Charles H. Vincent & Sons Funeral Home on Maple Avenue in Collinsville with Reverend John Lee of Trinity Episcopal Church officiating. Honorary bearers included several Collins Company notables, among them president Clair Elston, former president H. Bissell Carey, vice president Leonard B. Hough, and plant engineer Guy F. Whitney.

Howard V. Follert is buried in the Village Cemetery, Collinsville.

“Your Silent Neighbors” introduces readers to people out of Canton’s past. Readers are encouraged to visit these gravesites and pay their respects to the people who have helped make our community what it is today.