Obituary of Barbara Sawyer Lowry

Barbara Sawyer Lowry, M.D., Col., U.S. Army (ret.) March 31, 1924 –September 21, 2011 Barbara S. Lowry, M.D., of Pocono Lake Preserve, Pennsylvania, died on September 21, 2011 at the age of 87. Dr. Lowry was born in Merion, Pennsylvania on March 31, 1924 to Warren E. and Mabel H. Sawyer (née Petersen). She attended Upper Darby High School, and graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1946. Dr. Lowry was awarded her medical degree by the Temple University School of Medicine in 1954. She completed her internship at Main Line Hospital, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1955, and her residency in pathology at Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, New York in 1959. In 1956 Dr. Lowry married John B. Lowry, Jr. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The family moved to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in the 1960s, where Dr. Lowry raised four sons while practicing and lecturing in pathology at Suburban General Hospital (now Mercy General Hospital) in Norristown. In 1979, she was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Dr. Lowry conducted research at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Frederick, Maryland, and is credited with published research on a number of topics, including Legionella (Legionnaire’s Disease). In 1990, following her retirement from the U.S. Army in 1986 with the rank of Colonel, she received a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. During her retirement, Dr. Lowry lived in Pocono Lake Preserve, and enjoyed traveling, reading, and gardening. Dr. Lowry was predeceased by her husband, John B. Lowry, Jr., in 1980. She is survived by her brother Warren E. Sawyer of St. Petersburg, Florida, her sister Jean S. Schweighauser of Arlington, Virginia, her sons, Arthur S. Lowry of Arlington, Virginia, John B. Lowry, III of Austin, Texas, Peter A. Lowry of Frederick, Maryland, Charles W. Lowry of Royalton, Pennsylvania, and three grandchildren. The family will receive friends on October 1, 2011 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the University Club, 1135 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the Lowry family would appreciate donations to: The Lewy Body Dementia Association 912 Killian Hill Road, S.W. Lilburn, GA 30047 www.lbda.org