Obituary of Richard Owen Lowery

Richard O. "Dick" Lowery, 80, of Julian, died Sunday, March 4, 2018. Born December 6, 1937, in Clintondale, he was the son of the late Lazelle Rex and Dorothy Wright Lowery. On June 21, 1959 he married Martha Williams, who passed away on January 1, 1994. In addition to his fiancée, Marjorie Myers, he is survived by three children, Brian R. Lowery and his wife, Bethany, of Bellefonte, Joyce L. Lowery of Bellefonte, and Tammy L. Knepp and her husband, Ronald, of Lemont; two sisters, Peggy Marter of Hollidaysburg and Lois Mumper of New Germantown; five grandchildren, Gwendolyn and Ian Lowery, Samuel and Andrew Smith, and Kooper Knepp. He was preceded in death by his granddaughter, Rebecca Harter on November 16, 1997, and five siblings, Sally Hoy, Martha Gravish, Gerald William Lowery, Lazelle Melvin Lowery and Lloyd Allen Lowery. Dick attended Bellefonte High School for his sophomore and junior year and graduated with the first class from Bald Eagle High School in 1957. He attended trade school at Williamsport Community College to be a machinist, graduating in 1965. A Life Member of the Penn State Alumni Association, he spent the majority of his working career at the University. He worked at the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor on the Penn State campus as a machinist. While working at the reactor, one of his proudest accomplishments was contributing to the design and fabrication of the hardware for a test sample transport system for neutron activation in the reactor core. The system is still in use today. Dick also worked in the Penn State Engineering Services Machine Shop where he worked with Hershey Medical Center Researchers to fabricate some of the parts for the artificial heart program. The heart prototype is on display in the cardiac wing of the Hershey Medical Center. In the early 1980's, he worked at the Applied Research Laboratory and often spoke of the challenges of machining some unique hardware, especially a nose cone for a large underwater vehicle. Dick retired from the Civil Engineering Department in 1998 as the lab supervisor over the teaching and research labs. His fondest memories were of working with the students and helping with their research. Dick will be remembered as a husband, father, grandfather, farmer, machinist and outdoorsman. He loved being active by farming, hunting, bowling and spending time with his fiancée, Marge. Dick cherished his time with his family and was proud of his grandchildren's achievements and accomplishments. Although stubborn, he was loyal and protective. He was a hard worker with a heart of gold. He passed away doing what he loved. Visitation will be on Thursday, March 8, 2018 from 6-8 pm at Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton St. State College. Memorial Service will be Friday, March 9, 2018 at 2:30 pm at Mt. Nittany United Methodist Church, 1500 E. Branch Road, State College, with the Reverend Edward Preston officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be directed to The Ronald McDonald House of Hershey, by mailing your donation to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central PA, 745 West Governor Road, Hershey, PA 17033 or by visiting https://ronaldshousehershey.ejoinme.org/MyPages/DonationPage/tabid/75438/Default.aspx. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.