Downers Grove Banker, Father and Rotary Club President-Elect Passes Away at 51

Downers Grove resident and Rotary Club of Hinsdale President-Elect John K. Lowry Jr. passed away Dec. 11 at the age of 51, according to an obituary from the Hallowell & James Funeral Home.

While Lowry’s cause of death wasn’t specified, the obituary states he passed away peacefully last Sunday, surrounded by family. Lowry was married to wife Ann for 26 years and is survived by her, his sons Jack, Patrick and George, his mother Betsy, his brother Tim, his sister Paige, 15 sisters and brothers-in law and 36 nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his father, John K. Lowry, Sr.

Lowry was born in 1965 in Pittsburgh, where he picked up a love of sports that kept him cheering for the Pirates and Steelers for the rest of his life. He attended Cardinal Gibbons High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he played football before attending and playing rugby at Xavier University, where he met Ann, who’s from Hinsdale.

Cardinal Gibbons wrote a memorial post for Lowry on Wednesday, where they reminded alumni and loved ones that he and others would be remembered at an annual memorial mass in November.

When he wasn't working in banking and wealth management, watching sports or playing golf, Lowry coached his three sons in baseball and was highly involved in coaching Downers Grove youth baseball teams. He brought his love of sports to every corner of his life.

In 2012, Lowry won the Rotarian of the Year award, and he was slated to be the next president of the Rotary Club of Hinsdale in 2017.

Lowry’s family asks that instead of memorial flowers, donations be given to either the Downers Grove Youth Baseball Association through Jim Sharwarko (PO Box 526, Downers Grove) or the Rotary Club of Hinsdale (PO Box 395, Hinsdale).

A visitation will take place from 3-9 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 16 at the Hallowell & James Funeral Home at 1025 W. 55th Street in Countryside. The funeral, which will be open to family and friends, will be the following day at St. Mary of Gostyn Church in Downers Grove. Mass will begin at 10 a.m. and Lowry will be buried in Interment Bronswood Cemetery.

--

Photo courtesy of Hallowell & James Funeral Home