Frederick Julius Tower II

Annapolis, Maryland resident Frederick Julius Tower II left this world on July 17, 2019. Born in Panama Canal Zone on April 10, 1932, he was the son of Kathleen Hull Tower and Arthur Frederick Tower, a U.S. Department of State diplomat. He spent his youth abroad in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. He loved living in the tropics, especially in the Canary Islands and Hawaii, and was an avid swimmer. As a boy, he witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

He graduated from Tabor Academy, Marion, Massachusetts, earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University. Previously, he had served in the US Army in Germany during the Korean War. In 1956, he married Barbara Townshend Stowe and they lived on Capitol Hill, eventually moving with their three children to Annapolis in 1969. He was an international economist and continued to travel abroad from the 1960s until his retirement from the Caribbean Division of the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1990. He worked with The Tower Team at Coldwell Banker until recently.

Fred had a keen mind and a gift for languages. An avid reader, he could often be found with a history book in his hand. He began running regularly in the 1960s and participated in 5K races with his family well into his 80s. He had encyclopedic knowledge of planes and built and flew many experimental aircraft. He was an adventurer. Fred was a lifelong Episcopalian and an active member of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis.

He was a loving and generous husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by Barbara, his wife of 63 years, his children Elizabeth Tower Powell (Robert); John Julius Tower (Juliette); Alexandra Tower Sears (Jonathan), and his grandchildren Isabel, Daisy, and Georgia Sears; Olivia and John Tower Jr.; Victoria, William and Edward Powell, as well as nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23 at John M. Taylor Funeral Home 147 Duke of Gloucester Street Annapolis, MD 21401. His memorial service will be held at St. Anne’s Church on Wednesday, July 24 at 11:00 a.m.

The family suggests contributions to the scholarship fund established for Fred’s former caregiver, Tiffany Chaney, to enable her to attend nursing school at https://www.gofundme.com/f/nursing-scholarship-in-memorial-of-fred-tower.