Lowrey Lindbergh Rhodes, 95, died September 25, 2023 at Legacy Village in Stillwater, Oklahoma where he enjoyed joking with the staff and singing along when they had music guests. A memorial service will be at 1:00 p.m. Monday, October 16, 2023 at the First United Methodist Church in Stillwater. Strode Funeral Home and Cremation is in charge of the arrangements.

Lowrey was born to Ray and Johnnie (Lowrey) Rhodes on December 28, 1927 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Lowrey and his friend, Jean Louiese Mitchell, would ride their horses to the country school they attended. Jean graduated the year before he did, so he started skipping school to ride over and see her. Jean's mother told Lowrey that if he wanted to see Jean, he would finish school. So, he did.

He and Jean were married in November of 1945 after he graduated from high school. When Lowrey turned 18, he was drafted. It's hard to imagine these two Oklahoma teenagers first being stationed in Japan for two years. They returned to the states on the same ship as Helen Keller. Their next assignment was in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri where their daughter Robin was born.

Their following assignment was in Germany, where their son Lowrey, Jr. "Dusty" was born.
Taking advantage of living in Europe, they visited several different countries while they were there.

For several years, Lowrey was stationed at three different universities as an ROTC instructor, back when it was mandatory. The first was Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Next was Southeastern State College in Durant.

Lowrey's family returned to Stillwater while he served a year in Vietnam. He had purchased a tape recorder so he could send them recorded messages. When he returned, he told his family he had his next orders, and they were excited to hear where they were moving. When he told them they were going to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, they asked "Where?" This was the location of Henderson State University, where he was again an ROTC instructor. His two children graduated from Arkadelphia High School, and his daughter Robin from HSU.

After his son Dusty graduated from high school, in 1972, Lowrey decided to retire from the military as a Sergeant Major, the highest noncommissioned office, having served for 26 years. The family returned to Stillwater where his son went through eight years at OSU to become a veterinarian.

Lowrey was a member of the First United Methodist Church and served as Exalted Ruler of the Elks for two years, and was a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

One of the favorite things Lowrey and Jean did together and with others was square dancing. They belonged to the Wagon Wheel Square Dance Club for years.

Since Lowrey was only 44 when he retired, he worked at Stillwater National Bank (now Simmons bank), for about 15 years before permanently retiring.

While in Japan in 1946, Lowrey learned to play golf. He learned to love it, and says that he got his formal education on the golf course because he would be the one asked to play with visiting officers. Over the years in Stillwater, he became one of the city's best golfers, and qualified for tournaments around the country. In his golfing lifetime, he had made 12 holes-in-one. He could be seen hitting golf balls until he was 90.

Lowrey's daughter remembers him telling her that early on, he realized he had not received a very good education, so he worked diligently on self-improvement. He went to libraries and got books to study grammar, mathematics, and other areas in which he was deficient, like improving his speech. During his years at the three universities, he also took military courses to contribute further to his military advancement.

Lowrey was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Jean, whose inurnment was on what would have been their 75th anniversary in 2021, and his three sisters.

Survivors include daughter Robin and husband Terry Wheeler; son Dusty and wife Pam Rhodes; grandchildren, Jennifer and husband Patrick Jalbert, Parker and wife Janine Rhodes, Cody Rhodes, Carson Rhodes, and Nick Wheeler; two great-grandsons; as well as many nieces and nephews.