Lowry, David Todd
9/15/2002
| Reverend David Todd Lowry died on Sunday, September 15, 2002 at the age of 75. He was born March 5, 1927 in Dayton, Ohio and was adopted by Ellsworth and Ethel Stryker Lowry and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania. David is survived by his wife of 54 years, Dr. Mary Sue Hart Lowry of Austin and their four children: Carlos Hart Lowry and wife Alice Embree of Austin, Texas; Paul Ward Lowry of Gainesville, Florida; Margaret Elizabeth Lowry of Davis, California; and John Todd Lowry of Austin, Texas. Eight grandchildren were a source of pride and pleasure. They are Daniela, Camilo, Vanesa, Laura, Rayen, Alexander, Amy and Llanka. His sister and brother, Jean and Don Lowry of Greenville, North Carolina, many nieces and nephews, also survive David. David served in the U. S. Army before coming to Austin to continue his college education. He met Mary Sue Lowry at a First United Methodist Youth Fellowship picnic in 1947 and they were married June 1, 1948. David received a B.A. from Tulane University in 1949 while his wife attended medical school there. He attended seminary at the Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, then served as a student pastor in Louisiana churches before earning his B.D. and becoming an ordained minister. He also received an M.A. in Ibero-American studies from Southern Methodist University. David Lowry and his wife spent most of their lives serving as missionaries in Chile, arriving in that country with two-year-old twins in 1955. Their first two terms were spent in Nueva Imperial, a small town in southern Chile. David was pastor of two churches, also serving 16 Mapuche Indian communities. After a 1960 earthquake devastated Chile, David was involved with reconstruction projects for three years. He was assigned as a full-time pastor to San Pablo church in Santiago in 1968. The Lowrys came to the United States on leave shortly before the military coup in 1973. Returning to Chile in 1975, David pastored the LA Serena and Coquimbo churches, north of Santiago, and then served as pastor of a church in Valparaiso and as District Superintendent. His next assignment was in Termuco. During the period that followed the military coup, David and his wife were active in many efforts to defend human rights. David and his wife were Missionaries in Residence at the Methodist Board of Global Ministries in New York City. After retiring in 1992 they moved to Austin and became active members of Trinity United Methodist Church. |
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| Source: Journal Louisiana Conference 2003 (Memoirs) | |
