In Memoriam: Brig. Gen. Marion Roscoe Lowery

AVONDALE ESTATES, GA --Marion Roscoe Lowery, a resident of Avondale Estates and retired brigadier general in the Georgia National Guard, died on April 13.

He was 93.

Born in Augusta, Lowery served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and continued to serve in the Georgia National Guard, attaining the rank of Brigadier General before his retirement in 1983.

A graduate of Mercer University's School of Law, he served as chairman of the Georgia State Board of Worker's Compensation from 1960 to 1973, and was a past president of the Southern Association of Workers' Compensation Administrators, and the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions.

Lowery's community service included stints as president of the DeKalb County Jaycees, vice president of the Georgia Jaycees, and president and board chairman of the Georgia Society for the Prevention of Blindness.

He served on the board of deacons at First Baptist Church of Atlanta and First Baptist Church of Decatur. With his wife, Claudia, he served as co-chair of the wedding committee at First Baptist Church of Decatur. The Lowerys were honored as the DeKalb County Family of the Year in 1959 for their contributions to the community.

Lowery also served as Mayor Pro Tem of Avondale Estates and as police commissioner. He and Claudia were also poll workers for many years in DeKalb County.

He is survived by his daughters: Barbara Abell and her husband Jay of Conyers; Roxanne Lowery and her husband Peter Cornelis of Stone Mountain; granddaughters Claudia Sexton of Duluth and Heather Myers of Jefferson; and five great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 71 years, Claudia Dunaway Lowery.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Monday, April 18, in the chapel at First Baptist Church of Decatur, followed by a burial with full military honors at Decatur Cemetery.

Online condolences may be made at www.asturner.com.

(Photo courtesy City of Avondale Estates)