Virginia Beach, VA. Jim Lowe, 71, of Virginia Beach, VA, peacefully passed away due to complications related to Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Saturday afternoon, August 22, 2015 at his home.
Jim was born on May 12, 1944, in Oskaloosa, the son of Edward Raymond and Henrika (Haalboom) Lowe. His public school education was received entirely in Oskaloosa, graduating from Oskaloosa Senior High School in 1962. He joined the Navy in October 1963 and proudly served for 27 years, retiring in 1991 as a Master Chief Electrician in nuclear power.
Over that span, which included three tours of duty in Vietnam, Jim spent a great deal of time on both the USS Enterprise and the USS Nimitz. Upon retiring, his family remained in Virginia Beach and Jim secured employment with Q.E.D. Systems, writing instruction manuals for Navy vessels.
Aside from a lifelong commitment to the Navy, the core of Jim’s life was devoted to being a father to the three daughters he inherited when he married Mary Ann Cavanaugh in May of 1977 (in Orange County, California). He was truly a father in every way to Julia, Danielle, and Beverly through all the subsequent events of their lives. No father could have enjoyed the experience more than he did. It was his legacy.
His love of travel and exploration also expressed itself early on in the form of a fascination with trains, tracks, and everywhere they led. His love of model trains and their elaborate sets never waned. There is not a year that went by where he didn’t include an N Scale brass engine on his Christmas list.
Jim is survived by his wife, Mary Ann, daughter Julia (and husband Tom) Byron, daughter Danielle (and husband Kurt) Kreassig, daughter Beverly Arviso (and husband Walt Hayde), granddaughters Kinsey and Kaiya Kreassig, all residing in Virginia Beach; brother Ted (and Barbara) Lowe of Tulsa, OK, sister Judy Lowe of Des Moines, IA, and youngest brother John (and Susan) Lowe of Houston, TX.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Edward Raymond and Henrika Lowe.
As was his wish, Jim’s body was cremated, and there were no public services.
Jim Lowe was my Hero!! Being a Navy veteran and working for the Navy for over 27 years, I am fully aware of what a great Patriot he was. I understand what great Navy career he had. I know his accomplishments. He was my Navy hero!!
Jerry Joe Anderson, 3500 Texas Trail, Hurst, Tx 76054
I am his younger brother. My childhood days of rounding up neighbor kids to go to the ballfield to play baseball, or listening to 45 RPM records, or watching Ed Sullivan cannot be remembered without thinking of Jim; it is as though, for me, the 1950s died with him.