Dr. Roy Leon Lowrie, 1959-2006
Dr. Roy Leon Lowrie, went home to be with His Lord after faithfully completing his life goal, “to raise my family for the glory of God and serve well in Christian education.”
After a three-year battle with leukemia and complications from it, Dr. Lowrie died at Miami Valley (Ohio) Hospital at 5:15 a.m.on Friday, May 12, 2006, in the presence of his loving wife of 23 years, Dr. Ruth Lowrie, and his four children, whom he dearly loved, Anne (19), a student at Grace College in Winona Lake, IN, and Grace (17), Roy, Jr. (14), and Karis (12), all students at Xenia Christian. [ED NOTE – Dr. Lowrie’s wife is the daughter of Dr. William Male, former academic dean at Grace College. Roy and Ruth (Male) Lowrie were married in 1983 at Warsaw Community Grace Brethren Church. She is a 1980 graduate of Grace College.]
Dr. Lowrie capably and faithfully served as the assistant superintendent of Dayton Christian Schools, Inc. (which includes Xenia Christian Schools) from August 1, 2002, until July 1, 2003, and as superintendent from July 1, 2003, until December 21, 2004, when a disability resulting from complications from a medical procedure prevented him from continuing to do so.
Roy was born on April 3, 1959, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, to Dr. and Mrs. Roy W. Lowrie, Jr., and graduated from Delaware County Christian School in Newtown Square, PA.
He earned a B.A. in History/Education from Covenant College in Tennessee in 1981, an M.A. in Christian School Administration from Grace Theological Seminary in 1985, and a Ed.D. in School Administration/Elementary Education from Ball State University in 1987.
Having served in North Carolina, Indiana, South Carolina, Arizona, Florida, and the Philippines, Dr. Lowrie is known throughout the United States for his leadership in Christian education, ministering at different times as a teacher and superintendent, as well as a visiting professor at Grace Theological Seminary in Indiana and a professor of graduate studies at Columbia International University in South Carolina.
Dr. Lowrie enjoyed reading, writing, and computers and was an avid outdoorsman and sportsman. He especially loved fishing and rock climbing. He was a scholar-athlete in high school and college, earning a soccer scholarship at Covenant. Dr. Lowrie had been a soccer, basketball, and baseball coach at different times. He really loved watching his daughters play volleyball.
An active and dedicated member of Grace Covenant Church on N. Fairfield Rd. in Beavercreek, OH, where his entire family worshiped, Dr. Lowrie taught Sunday school until he became disabled.
Dr. Lowrie is preceded in death by his father, Dr. Roy W. Lowrie, Jr., and a nephew Christopher Lowrie Black. He is survived by his wife and children, mother Margaret (Smith) Lowrie Rawlings (New Holland, PA), four sisters, Dr. Janet Nason (Manila, Philippines), Winnie King & husband David (Newtown Square, PA), Dr. Ellen Black (Lynchburg, VA), Beth McDowell & husband Dan (Riverside, RI), and eight nieces and nephews.
A viewing will be held on Thursday evening, May 18, at Titus Funeral Home in Warsaw, IN, with a private family funeral and burial on Friday, May 19, at Oakwood Cemetery in Indiana at 10 a.m. Friends, students, and parents in the Miami Valley are invited to attend a visitation with the family on Friday evening, May 19, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Dayton Christian’s Washington Church Road Campus cafeteria at 9391 Washington Church Rd. in Miamisburg, as well as a memorial service on Saturday, May 20, at 2 p.m. at Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene, 1850 N. Fairfield Rd. in Beavercreek.
In lieu of flowers, Dr. Lowrie’s family requests that contributions be made to either Dayton Christian Schools (1075 Wesley Avenue, Xenia, OH 45385) or to the Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit at Miami Valley Hospital (1 Wyoming St., Dayton, OH 45409).
Condolences and cards may be sent to Dr. Ruth Lowrie at 424 1/2 South Detroit St., Xenia, OH 45385.