Eulogy for Don Lowery - by David McBlain
I first met then Captain Don Lowery in an expandable van near Tan Son Nhut Airport/AirBase in September 1966. I don't know how much input he had on my acceptance for that job with the impressive address of HQ,MACV(CICV)ADP but I do know that he then undertook to teach a brash Army second lieutenant not only how to be an officer but also how to utilize the power of a computer to do better work faster. Over the next 38 plus years I came to know a lot about Don, his wife Margaret and their children. It is still true I knew only a little about this remarkable individual.
As with many senior citizens (sometimes I qualify), I enjoy groups where we reminisce. I find it useful to remind people that "the older we get, the better we were." Until two years ago when the bill for cigarettes came due, that would have been incorrect and unfair to say about Don.
Don's life of generosity began early. Immediately after he joined the Army Air Corps out of High School in 1947, he began sending part of his monthly pay home to help his mother. He continued this until her death in 1963.
His service career began as a draftsman stationed in Alaska. When the Air Force came into being, Don had to choose. The Army was going to get new facilities (to be built on some swamp land). Don thought the old facility and no mosquitoes were a better deal. Once he learned that Tech Sergeant was the highest rank you could achieve as a draftsman, he transferred to Intelligence. Soon he was a Corporal stationed at Langley AFB. A fellow serviceman told him his boss loved how well he did his job-- because it allowed his boss to spend a lot of time on the golf course. However, the boss had no intentions of recommending Don for promotion because the slot was only graded for a Corporal. The only way for Don to get out of the situation, at that time, was to request an overseas transfer; off to Okinawa he went. Once there, he was asked if he wanted to participate in the island track and field meet. Don said he had done a little pole vaulting in high school but was not that good--he could only clear 12 feet. He was informed that the island record was only 11 feet. He set the new island pole vault record at 12 feet which stood for about 2 months when a new serviceman arrived who really knew how to pole vault. The record quickly went to 17 plus feet.
1953 found him stationed in California where he convinced a California girl to cast her lot with him and the Air Force to give him more opportunities to excel. He began a second life as a professional night student. He attended Modesto Junior College from 1953 to 1955, graduating with an Associates Degree. He then went through Officer Training School and was commissioned in 1956. After that he attended the University of Maryland's European Division from 1960-1963, and finally ended up at the University of Omaha (this was before it became UNO) from 1963 to 1964 where he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree under the "boot strap program." When the Air Force then "allowed" him to take two years off from service work to get his Masters Degree in Business Administration and Computer Science as a full-time day student at Texas A&M University, Don was prepared to enjoy a less stressful life. When I first met him a few months after graduation, he was a good "Aggie." He remained one.
Back to his day job! When Don was a "staff lieutenant" in flying units he made sure his jobs were done so that his unit could effectively deploy on short notice. He once said that it made him feel good when Air Force wings and carrier task forces would deploy for no apparent reason beyond someone's desire for an exercise. In his staff job (Intelligence officer) he knew that the apparent "no notice exercise" was intended to quench a potential "hot spot" before it could ignite. He understood that flying may be glamorous but a lot of staff work must be done to make it possible and successful.
While Don was serving as a weapons planner in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Margaret said she had not realized quite how serious his work was until he came home one evening with a "side arm." He said he had had a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist all day and could not turn in the weapon when finally relieved of the briefcase because the armory was closed for the night so he brought it home. He then proceeded to unload the weapon, checking it twice, firing it into the air eight times (the gun only held six rounds), all to insure it really wasn't loaded, before storing it for the night
Returning from Vietnam, he served tours at Offutt and in the Washington area before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. During his last tour at Offutt he played a major role in Planning Research Corporation's hiring of two individuals in senior positions. Those two played a role in my joining that same firm several years later when I left college teaching. Don never told me why people at PRC would pay attention to his recommendation, indeed I only learned about the full nature of it last December when my boss for the last 24 years and nine months told me about Don's role in his (my boss) employment with PRC. Don took pride in giving others a chance to excel.
He did not sit on his silver leaves. He went to work for Honeywell Corporation and performed many staff functions for them during the time when government regulations became so much more pervasive. With the children established (no parent ever really thinks their children are on their own), he and Margaret embarked on a their own venture, running a small business. Don had always had a dream of running his own company. If he had had his choice it would have been a bowling alley. Unfortunately, he knew they are very capital intensive and take about ten years before they cash flow--he studied their operation. Instead, he bought a printing shop. He was always learning and took real pride in what the two of them did together in that endeavor.
Don "had a life!" outside his job. After Vietnam he coached Little League, even umpiring games when his sons were that age. Once, when a group of parents behind home plate were yelling balls and strikes, he called time out, walked around the fence, climbed into the stands and sat down with the parents. When they asked what he was doing, he said, ""It is obvious you can see home plate better from up here than I can behind the plate so I thought I should join you." When they all finished laughing, he returned to his position. When his oldest son David turned 13, Don turned his attention to the Babe Ruth League. At that time it was in need of a lot of help. One man was trying to do it all, as he could not get anyone to volunteer. When Don said he thought things could be done better, Margaret told him not to complain unless he was willing to volunteer. He did, jumping in up to his waist, as he became a one-man complaint committee for every parent in the league. Actually, Margaret did, because everyone called between the hours of 9:00 am and noon while Don was at work. Margaret could only take the caller's name and number, but everyone seemed to feel better, letting off steam to her. Don became president of the Babe Ruth league before being transferred.
When Don became secretary of his bowling league in 1976, he was the owner of one of the first home computers. This was in the era before you were able to buy canned programs off the shelf (COTS), and he wrote a program for his league that not only allowed him to keep track of each team's wins and losses, and individual scores and averages, it also kept track of awards won. Since this was a truly mixed league, with men, women and youths, there were three different sets of awards to determine. He did hours of work in thirty minutes. His ability to write useful programs continued at home. He wrote a grocery list program for Margaret, not only cutting down the amount of time she spent preparing her list each week, but also the time she spent in the store as items were arranged on the list by location in the store. None of the grocery chains has realized what a boon this would be to customers, or they realized it would kill impulse buying!
I know he followed his children's' participation in school activities and was a concerned citizen when it came to local school policies. He weighed in on the plans to split the Bellevue, Nebraska High School in two, which he thought, was a bad idea. His proposal lost but he never expressed regret for trying.
Don was very involved in Rotary. He was proud of their international role in the polio vaccination campaign. He was equally proud of and worked very hard in the program that provided specialized heart operations/care for children from the "former Soviet Union." Each time we visited for the last several years, he had pictures and stories to tell about the latest patient. Indeed, it was in connection with this program that he spoke at a Rotary Convention and stepped backward, off an unprotected stage rear, and broke his hip. One of the Gift of Life Children was Anna. In 1994, she was 12 years old with a life expectancy of 15 years. She had the most Serious operation of any child they sponsored. Doctors closed a hole in the lower heart chamber, replaced two valves and did a triple bypass. Because her situation was so serious, she came back again the following year for a check-up. Fortunately, all was fine. Anna's mother taught English in her daughter's school back in the former Soviet Union and learned of Rotary's student exchange program. She made sure Anna learned English so she could qualify as an exchange student. In 1999 Anna arrived as a junior in the US high School system, with Don and Margaret as her host family. Margaret will tell you to be an exchange student host, but do it before you reach the age of 70.
Don always had many stories to tell. He came to talk to college seniors in Texas where I was teaching. When I asked for Some incidents to include in the introduction, he told me about his role, parachuting behind enemy lines in Korea as part of the group that extracted a crashed MiG-15 for analysis purposes. In Vietnam, he told me about meeting both Generals Eisenhower and MacArthur in the way young enlisted troops do when the general passes through their mess hall (in Alaska). The story had a purpose because he thought Eisenhower did it correctly while MacArthur had a photo-op. He wanted the lieutenant to know what he should do by way of inspecting the battalion mess hall when I pulled Staff Duty Officer the first time. He taught me the use of Memorandums For Record which were drafted with no intention of actually being sent. When he talked about incidents at Honeywell and at the print shop, it was obvious that he was always seeking to serve as a mentor although not all potential students were receptive .
Don was proud of the three children and would discuss what David, Richard and Sally were doing as adults. Sometimes there was concern because no child ever does things exactly the way dad would do it. Don and Margaret came to Omaha to see Richard and his family on several occasions. Often we would steal an evening of that time and have them join us. When Margaret wasn't around, he would talk about the work she did in her church. Although he sometimes griped about people taking advantage of those who were trying to help people in need, it was quite obvious he was proud of what she did.
Don leaves behind a widow, Margaret, two sons, David (wife Kathy and daughters Betsy and Katie) and Richard (wife Marilyn, daughter Rebecca and son Christopher), and a daughter, Sally (husband Joe and daughters Vivian and Sara). He is also survived by a brother, Bernard and other relatives. There are many others, such as I, whose lives are immensely richer because we could call Don Lowery a friend. If the measure of a man's life is whether the world is better for his time here, Don Lowery was a success.
