Lance Lowe

Kenneth Lance Lowe passed away on November 11th, 2024 after living for many years with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Lance, as he was always called, was born on August 23rd, 1943, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the oldest child of Glynden and Kenneth Lowe. Lance grew up in Norman, graduating from University High School. He went to the University of Oklahoma, where he received the award of Outstanding Senior in Geology, and went on to get his Masters in Geology from OU. He was also accepted to Officer Candidate School of the US Navy, serving as an officer during the Vietnam War aboard the USS Saint Paul. He recalled long afterwards the awe of seeing from his ship the size and power of battleship USS New Jersey. After the war, Lance worked as a petroleum geologist. His son, Daniel, was born in 1984. After living in Texas, Alabama, and elsewhere, in the 1990s he moved back to his hometown of Norman and married Margaret McCulloh of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

His interest in science was lifelong, finding special satisfaction in learning about space exploration. He was passionate about aviation and cars. Throughout his life, he could ably identify planes, sometimes even simply by their sound, and loved observing them. His favorite car was the Chevrolet Corvette, and he could talk at length about his deep appreciation of its engineering. He loved photography, and a number of his photographs of local sunsets were published in the local paper. Lance was always joking, finding humor in language and life.

He is preceded in death by his brothers Craig and Kevin. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, of Norman, Oklahoma, his son, Daniel, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and his brother, Eric, of Scottsdale, Arizona.

His remains will be interred at Warren Cemetery in Norman, the resting place of his parents and his brother Kevin. The cemetery is directly below the flight path of planes coming to and from the nearby Max Westheimer Airport. 

Donations in his memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, alzfdn.org. A lifelong believer in science, Lance would be glad to know that those who loved him were helping to treat and eliminate this disease by supporting vital scientific research.

A service in memory of Lance will be held at a time still to be determined; all who wish to come are welcome.