Obituary of Craig Wesley Lowe

Craig Wesley Lowe boarded a ship to the Undying Lands on September 15, 2014 at his home in Olympia, Washington, at the age of 62. He is survived by his wife, Terry; his children, Marc, Kara, Lindsey and Zach; his son-in-law, Eric Lohnes; and his two grandchildren, Adele and Daniel Lohnes. Craig was born at Travis Air Force Base on February 9, 1952. This might have subliminally inspired his lifelong love of airplanes and all things that fly. He grew up as a middle child of “Wes and Weeda,” with and older sister, Sharon, and younger sister, Barb. All did their best to keep him in line, but to no avail. By all accounts, Craig was a smart and curious child, yet also a bit of smart aleck and a rabble rouser. In later years, Craig’s children loved to hear tales of their father’s misadventures and escapes from the grasps of punishment of his father, Wes, a good but stern man. Although Craig was not an excellent student, he was athletically gifted, playing varsity tennis and baseball at Ritenour High in Overland, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis). Craig, with his wooze-inducing smile, lithe athletic body and sharp wit, attracted the attention of a fine, kind and beautiful woman, Terry Lumar, in a history class his junior year of high school. Terry would become the love of his life and help set him on a path of achievement (instead of a cigarette-smoking, jean jacket-wearing, grease monkey punk he was formerly destined to become). They were married three years later on August 19, 1972 and would be together until his time of passing, more than 46 years. Craig, chasing Terry to college, headed to Warrensburg and joined the ROTC to help pay his way through Central Missouri State University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science and went on to get his Master’s degree in Criminal Justice while working various jobs to supplement his ROTC stipend, most notably as a dog catcher and a Warrensburg police officer. It was during this time that the seedlings of Craig’s love of knowledge, thirst for justice, and passion for the law were first planted and would grow to become the defining characteristics of his life. After graduating with his master’s degree, he was commissioned into the Army as a second lieutenant in the artillery. After training, with Terry in tow, Craig was sent to Germany, where he served on the front line of the Cold War. Stationed near the border of the Eastern Bloc, he would recall, “We could see the burning embers of their cigarettes and they could see ours, and everyone was just waiting from someone to kickoff World War III with a nuclear bomb.” Although in later years Craig would look back with great pride and fondness at his time in the hill country of Germany, when it came time to re-enlist, he found himself at a crossroads. He had a young wife and his first child and had grown tired of sleeping in a cold, wet tent. He had an epiphany, “Wait…I love the law. I love justice. I love a good suit! Why don’t I go to law school?” In 1979, Craig was one of 21 people out of nearly a thousand applicants to be accepted into the Army Funded Legal Education Program. Three years later, he would graduate with his law degree from the prestigious Washington University in St. Louis, pass the Missouri Bar, and join the Army’s elite J.A.G. corps. (Several years later, NBC and CBS would have a series called JAG, which was based mostly on Craig’s life. They changed just enough of the details to not have to pay him royalties.) The Army sent Craig and his budding family to Ft. Lewis in Washington where Craig fell in love with the green trees and natural beauty and proclaimed, “It’s just like Germany without all of the techno pop. This is where I am going to raise my family, practice law and make my home.” For the next 30 years, that’s exactly what he did. With the aide of his fine woman, Terry, he raised four upstanding children who never went to jail. He imparted to them his love of knowledge, doing what is right, a love of the Lord, and a great sense of humor. He never let them forget their Midwest roots by ensuring they knew how lucky they were to grow up in a place without the oppressive humidity and snow storms that pocked his childhood. Not to be minimized, he gave them the birthright and blessing of being St. Louis Cardinal’s fans, in a land that would remain championship-starved for many years. As a lawyer, Craig would go on to have a widely varied and interesting career, spanning every facet of the law. After medically retiring from the Army, he would start his own private practice, work as a city appointed attorney, a district court judge, a criminal defense attorney, an appellate judge, and mediator for the state of Washington. Craig was known to be a knowledgeable, fair and honest man in a realm that was often dominated by charlatans and deceivers. His soft heart for the underdog and insistence on doing what was right led many a person to say, “He’s one of the good ones.” He was a story-teller who was not above a little “creative embellishment” for the purpose of dramatic effect. His presence could enliven any family gathering, barbeque or social event. Maybe drawing on his Army artillery training, his 4th of July fireworks displays were second to none. Kids who grew up in his neighborhood, can still picture the sight of Craig, with a burning punk in his mouth and an impish gleam in his eye, as he launched mortar after mortar into a balmy July sky. Craig will be remembered by those close to him for his love of his family, his generous spirit, his quick wit and loud laugh. His presence on Earth will be greatly missed, as he leaves a huge hole in the hearts of his family and friends. His legacy will persist though in the many great memories he gave to those who knew him. Comfort can be taken in the knowledge that where he is now, he has hot bratwursts cooking on a grill, a cold beer in one hand and cigar in the other. A Cardinal’s game plays in the background and they are winning. And Craig is happy. In lieu of flowers, the Lowe family asks that donations in Craig’s memory be made to either http://www.citygatesministries.org/ (City Gates Ministries) or http://www.ougm.org/ (Union Gospel Missions). Both help homeless people and the mentally ill, causes that he felt very strongly about. Please leave memories of Craig or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.