LORAIN — Howard Hilliard Jr., 78, died earlier this month. He outlived his wife of 44 years, Cheryl, by several years and had no other friends or family in the area.
But that does not mean he left this world alone.
On Thursday, the U.S. Navy and Air Force veteran was buried in the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman with full military honors, his wife’s ashes by his side. And alongside the casket, from Andras Funeral Home in Lorain to the graveside service in Rittman, were members of the Ohio Patriot Guard Riders and other local motorcycle groups, paying their respects to a man they had never met…