John Lowe

John J. “Jack” Lowe, 81, of Chambersburg, PA, died Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at home. Born August 10, 1931 in Altoona, PA, he was a son of the late Charles L. and Clara W. Stahl Lowe. He attended Roosevelt Junior High School in Altoona and was a 1949 graduate of the Altoona High School where he was a member of the high school baseball team. He played basketball while attending Roosevelt and also with the YMCA and his church league where he was a member of the All-Star team. Following graduation he served for eight years with the US Navy Reserve. Jack began a career with the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1950 and moved to Chambersburg in 1970 to serve as Supervisor of the Chambersburg Reclamation Plant. Jack was the first teacher of the Orgo-Thermit welding process. He retired in 1990 as Division Engineer of Welding for the Eastern Region after forty years of service with the company. His wife, Patricia Ann “Patty Ann” Willnecker Lowe, whom he married July 11, 1953, preceded him in death on April 6, 2007.

Jack was a member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Chambersburg and Immaculate Conception Church in Florida. He was a former member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Altoona. Early in his life he played minor league baseball with the Cumberland Old German Brewery. Jack was a life member of the Marine Corps League and held membership in Charles Nitterhouse Post 1599 VFW, Hume-McNeil-Byers AMVETS Post 224, Burt J. Asper Post 46 American Legion, Loyal Order of Moose Lodge # 842, and the Chambersburg Mall Walkers, all in Chambersburg. He enjoyed pitching horseshoes, golfing, and watching old western movies.

He is survived by five children; Barbara A. Lowe Stevens and husband Quincy Sr., David J. Lowe and wife Kathi, Jacqueline M. Lowe Ewan and husband Michael, Gary J. Lowe and wife Carol, and Patrick M. Lowe; eleven grandchildren; Quincy Stevens Jr., Shawn L. Stevens and wife Jennifer, Matthew S. Stevens and wife Shanna, David Lowe Jr. and wife Melanie, Lacey E. Helman and husband Cameron, Jarrett R. Johnson, Cody A. Ewan, Cade S. Ewan, Jonathan M., Nicholas J. and Christopher C. Lowe, all of Chambersburg. He is also survived by thirteen great-grandchildren, Hunter, Scott, Brady, Carah, Taylor, Trapper, Kinsley, Klara, Cooper, Gabriel, Landon, Charley, and McKenna; two brothers, Charles R. “Bob” Lowe and wife Elizabeth “Betty” of Springfield, PA and Gerard D. Lowe and wife Joan of Altoona.


Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Rev. James R. O’Brien at Noon Monday, October 15, 2012 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 320 Philadelphia Avenue, Chambersburg. Interment will be private. The family will receive friends from 6:00-8:00 PM Sunday at Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 333 Falling Spring Road, Chambersburg, PA.

Memorial contributions in Jack’s memory and in honor of his grandson, Shawn Stevens, may be made to the Four Diamonds fund and should be made payable to Penn State and mailed to Office of University Development and Alumni Relations, 600 Centerview Drive, PO Box 852, Hershey, PA 17033-0852.