John was born January 1, 1947 in Pine Bluff to the late John and Jo Lowry. John’s family moved to Warren when he was five and he stayed there until graduating high school in 1965.
John proudly served in the Air Force as an operating room technician in the Philippines during the Vietnam Era. After Vietnam, John enlisted with the Army National Guard eventually retiring with the rank of Colonel.
Education was very important to John. His undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He earned two Masters Degrees, one with the US Army War College in Strategic Studies, and the second from Henderson in Physical Education. He devoted much of his life to education-first as a teacher and later as a principal for Marion and Bauxite schools.
John accomplished many things and served in numerous capacities during his lifetime, but it was his role as husband, father, and grandfather which he cherished most. A gifted writer and storyteller, John’s quick sense of humor will be missed by his family, especially his wife and soulmate, Martha Lowry; daughters Catherine Jan Lowry, Andrea Elizabeth Hassell, Megan Sutterfield and Elizabeth Lee Gunn; grandchildren Lynli Lowry, Phillip Hassel, Billy Hassell Jr. and Maxwell Hagan; sister, Jo Ellen Callaway (Nick); numerous extended family members; as well as, his First United Methodist family.
