Richard Watson LOWERY, Jr.

1952 - 2020  (67 years)

• Name	Richard Watson LOWERY
  Suffix	Jr.
  Nickname	Dick
  Born	8 Mar 1952
  Gender	Male
  Died	9 Feb 2020	Meridian, MS
  Buried	ROBERT BARHAM FAMILY FUNERAL HOME
  Siblings	1 Sibling
  1. Richard Watson LOWERY, Jr.,   b. 8 Mar 1952,   d. 9 Feb 2020, Meridian, MS  (Age 67 years)   2. Diane LOWERY
  Person ID	I302	Steeles_Genealogy
  Last Modified	10 Feb 2022

  
  

  Father	Richard LOWERY, Sr.
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Elizabeth (Libby) EuclatrudeTwin STEELE,   b. 13 Jul 1924, Neola, Iowa ,   d. 25 Aug 2012, Enid, OK  (Age 88 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Family ID	F2642	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Lois Gail Barton
  Last Modified	13 Sep 2021
  Family ID	F202	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Dick Lowery

  
  

• Notes

  RICHARD'S OBITUARY On Sunday, February 9, 2020, Richard Lowery passed peacefully from this world in his home in Meridian, Mississippi. He was attended by his loving wife, a kind friend and his loyal companion dog, Kennif Ray. He was born Richard Watson Lowery, Jr, in Jackson, Mississippi on March 8, 1952. His father was a Marine Corps. Sargent and the family travelled extensively – usually relocating at least once a year. He fondly remembered his time in coastal North Carolina, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Hawaii and on the mean streets of West Jackson. As the perpetual “new kid”, Richard learned how to make people laugh and he quickly made friends at each new location. Richard was very athletic and was an excellent baseball pitcher and an avid surfer. He began playing guitar as a young teenager and started his performance career when he and two friends formed a band called the Crooked Little Men. Many other bands followed. He was a budding hippie in the summer of 1967 and got into some minor trouble in Salt Lake City. Like Br’er Rabbit, he was thrown into the briar patch when his parents sent him to live with relatives in San Francisco. He confessed that he was never quite the same after he experienced Haight-Ashbury during the Summer of Love. Through his life, Richard was on a constant quest to feed his active mind. His spiritual pursuits led him to study at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. He learned to play the sitar, became an accomplished fisherman and built computers. He studied Horticulture and ran a mail order nursery. He drew and painted obsessively creating scores of pen and ink drawings. Richard was a lover of language. He was very articulate and well read. When he was a few credits away from an English degree at The University of Southern Mississippi, he chose instead to become an apprentice optician. He perfected his craft and worked as a Master Optician for over 40 years. In 1986, he married the love of his life, Gail Barton. He had been a rolling stone – moving at least once a year. He finally grew moss when he settled in with Gail in Meridian. He loved his home so much that he rarely travelled. After work and on weekends, Dickie and Gail cruised in the golf cart exploring the nature trails on their 6-acre home place. They were always accompanied by a pack of happy dogs and occasionally by a cat or two. And so they spent 30 happy years, making a garden under their prized 100’ white oak, lounging on the deck, hanging with their devoted dogs and cherished cats. Dickie was an accomplished chef and grill master and he adored feeding the many friends who came to visit. During the last years of his life, Richard was very ill – eventually becoming bed-bound. He faced his pain and indignity with amazing grace and managed to maintain his sense of humor through it all. He treated his caregivers with love and respect and regaled them with amusing stories that distracted them from the reality of his situation. Richard was preceded in death by his parents – Richard Lowery and Elizabeth “Libby” Steele Lowery. He is survived by his wife, Gail Barton of Meridian; his sister Diane Polk (Edward) of Enid, Oklahoma; sisters-in-law, Jean Barton Mann (Rodger) of Starkville and Joyce Barton Brister (Freddie) of West Point; his nephews - Paul Polk (Jennifer) of Viola, Kansas, Colby Brister (Allison) of West Point, Mississippi and Ryan Mann of Starkville, Mississippi; nieces - Jennifer Tetley (Kyley) of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and Mandy Clark (Brandon) of Spring Hill, Tennessee; great nephew Landen Tetley; great nieces Anna Colby and Evan Elizabeth Brister and his adopted family - J’Lynn Howell of Oxford, Mississippi, his best friend, Danny Brantley of Brandon. Mississippi, his kind friend and caregiver Gay Garmon of Meridian. He will be greatly missed by his dogs – Kennif Ray, Dotsie, B, Junebug and Levon. His cats – Sis and Lowell George may notice that he’s gone as well. All who knew him will miss his entertaining colorful stories. Visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. at Robert Barham Family Funeral Home in Meridian, Mississippi. A Memorial Celebration will follow at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Caroline Dormon Nature Preserve, Love & Peas Community Garden or a favorite Animal Rescue Organization.