Obituary of John Lowrimore, Jr.

John Lowrimore Jr., age 88, passed away on Friday, November 27 in Alexandria, Virginia. He is survived by his daughter, Laura (husband Val) and three sons – Greg (wife Kim), Scott (wife Meg) and Mike. He is “Granddaddy” to seven grandchildren: Amie, Steven, Valerie, Chris, Emily, Brian and Nick, as well as a great grandfather to Emma Faye. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Sr. (Larry) and Laura Valentine Lowrimore, and his wife of 48 years, Beverly Lowrimore.
John was born on May 7, 1932 in Wilmington, North Carolina and grew up in many cities including Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh with summers spent at Carolina Beach near Wilmington, N.C. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 17 and was honorably discharged at the rank of Technical Sergeant in 1952. After his military service, John left Ft. Hood, Texas and joined his parents in Vacaville, California. He met and later married Elsa Pritchett. The couple settled in San Francisco, where Laura Christine was born. After Elsa passed away in 1966, John brought Laura with him to begin a new chapter of life in Littleton, Colorado. While attending a Parents Without Partners event, he met Beverly, then also widowed and raising three sons on her own. John and Bev’s first date was a snowmobile trip in the mountains. They fell in love and decided to join their families together. They were married on August 8, 1970 and settled in Littleton, Colorado in a home built along the High Line Canal, where their children grew up and the family gathered for 50 years. John and Bev taught their children to ski, and the family often spent time exploring, fishing, and camping in the Colorado Rockies. As the life journey of each child continued, there was travel (usually via R.V.) to universities to deliver freshmen, then graduations, then weddings, and then beginning the cycle again in the role of loving grandparents. John and Bev loved to travel and enjoyed exploring National and State Parks throughout the United States. After a quadruple bypass, John got back into shape and resumed downhill skiing. His favorite ski area was Loveland Basin, and with cell towers nearby, he took great delight in calling family members to send greetings from the ski slopes.
Together John and Bev took remarkably good care of each other as she overcame her cancer and they lived fully and aged gracefully. Bev was greatly missed after her passing in 2018; eventually John sold the family home and agreed to journey to Virginia for an extended visit before returning to the Rockies for skiing in 2021.
As over 500,000 of our fellow Americans know, the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted plans and stolen loved ones. At the age of 88 and with underlying conditions, John’s earthly life ended in an ICU, alone with compassionate medical staff and separated from family that otherwise would have been at his bedside. A private memorial and temporary Committal was held at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, Virginia. A Celebration of John’s life is postponed until it is once again safe to gather in number; to be held in Colorado.