Paul Benjamin Lowney

Paul Benjamin LOWNEY Seattle-based author and humorist, died on May 12, 2007. He wrote 28 books and three comic strips, most mixing humor, philosophy, and whimsical illustrations by his frequent collaborator Frank Renlie. Saturday Review magazine described his work by saying, "Sometimes Lowney makes you think and then laugh; and sometimes he makes you laugh and then think." He has also authored non-fiction works on Seattle and his experiences growing up in Butte, Montana during the 1930s. Paul Lowney was born and raised in Butte, fourth and youngest child of Lithuanian Jewish parents. In his senior year at Butte High School, Paul Lowney wrote a humor column for his school paper, The Mountaineer, and has been writing humor ever since. Someone asked him how he happened to get into writing and he said, When I was eight, I found a small pencil in my Cracker Jack box and I didn't want to throw it away. He graduated from the University of Montana, where he majored in sociology and philosophy, and he took graduate studies in philosophy at the University of Washington. During WWII he served three years in the U.S. Army as an overseas field correspondent for Yank, the Army Weekly. After leaving the Army in Virginia, he became a staff writer for the American Red Cross at their national headquarters in Washington, D.C. He moved back to Seattle and worked as a civilian information officer for the Army and then the Navy. During this time he was commissioned a First Lieutenant, Military Intelligence, in the Army Reserve. He founded Lowney Advertising and Crown & Lurie Publishers, both based in Seattle, and wrote several books celebrating Seattle and Washington State. His weekly humor panel, Gleeb, ran in the Seattle Times for 11 years, and his humor appeared in Parade, Saturday Review, Reader's Digest, and in scores of newspapers through his syndication with the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Copley News Service, and the Pacific Media Group. His hardback humor books issued by New York publishers include Gleeb, The Big Book of Gleeb, Offbeat Humor, The Best of Offbeat Humor, and The Love Game. Especially for Bright People - a Book of Humor and Think, a hardback volume illustrated by Frank Renlie, was published in October 2006, and the final, expanded edition of his memoir, At Another Time - Growing up in Butte, was published in hardback in March 2007. Paul was an outgoing person who loved people, and a fixture in Seattle for hosting weekly get-togethers at area restaurants and clubs, and inviting even casual acquaintances to join his circle of friends. He will be missed by his daughter Ivy Holt of Vancouver, granddaughters Misty Brooke Laurance of Seattle and Laura Holt of Vancouver, nephew Mark Lowney of Shoreline, nieces Carol Lowney of San Sebastopol, CA and Linda Lowney of Pacifica, CA, his best friend, singer Gina Funes whose publicity he managed during the 1960s, his longtime assistant Kjersty Stone of Everett, Mary Hanson of Redmond, Bertha Purviance-Candaux of Bellevue, and many other relatives and friends. At his request, a party to celebrate his life will be scheduled in the future; call Gina at 206-232-3692 for details. A funeral will also be held this week at Butterworth Funeral Home- Arthur A. Wright Chapel; call 206-282-5500 for details.