George Michael Howard, 45, had transferred to the Department of Housing and Urban Development office in Oklahoma City on April 3 to escape the crime and high prices of San Francisco, and to be closer to his ailing father in Dallas. Howard, who was one-quarter Cherokee, was a community development planning representative for HUD’s Office of Native American Programs. His wife, Perla Howard, also works for HUD and has a master’s degree from Oklahoma State University. They were married in Stillwater. Perla Howard said her husband was as generous as he was impulsive. Last Christmas he took two fatherless neighborhood kids to see “The Nutcracker.” It was something he just decided he was going to do,” she said. “He said every child should see that ballet in their youth.” Friends remembered him as a caring neighbor and a no-nonsense worker who was devoted to his job.