Jeffrey Rowe

After a lengthy battle with Frontotemporal Dementia, Jeffrey Richard Rowe of Pflugerville, Texas, passed away on Sunday, September 21, 2025, at the age of 66.

Jeffrey was born in Littlefork, Minnesota, to Richard and I’Anne Rowe on September 27, 1958. His family moved to Silver Bay and then Duluth, Minnesota, where Jeff attended school. After graduating from Duluth Central High School, Jeffrey went on to attend the University of Minnesota-Duluth for two years before transferring to the University of Minnesota main campus in Minneapolis from where he graduated with his degree in Electrical Engineering. Jeff began his professional career as a lead engineer for Aeronautics Corporation of America in Madison, Wisconsin, where among other duties in the field of cryogenics, he performed high voltage pulse testing of the load resistor for the “Star Wars” laser application. From there, Jeff moved to Westinghouse in Round Rock, Texas, to work on the Superconducting SuperCollider Project as an advanced test engineer. His work included developing test plans and procedures for superconducting magnets and creating a high-voltage magnet test instrument. After the project was eliminated by the U.S. government, Jeff moved over to Dell Computer to work as a consulting sustaining engineer in the Server Products Division. While at Dell, Jeff did trouble-shooting and resolving of issues on Dell’s server platforms and circuits. As a part of this position, Jeff provided international support for Dell’s European site. Following many years at Dell, Jeff moved to Xplore Technologies in Austin to work as a customer support engineer to provide global product and domestic support for their rugged tablet PC. This included training, debugging, deployment, and assisting the Asian vendor site for platform support. After working in the tech industry and realizing the downturn, Jeff decided to pursue a different career and earned his degree in Geographical Information Systems. During his break from engineering, he also worked as a substitute math teacher at Taylor High School in Taylor, Texas. Not long after getting his GIS degree, Jeff began working as a CADD technician mapping the electrical utility systems at the Fort Hood Army Garrison. Jeff finished his career in Georgetown, Texas, as an engineering associate with the Georgetown Utility Systems producing maps showing electric features for field verification and documentation. Shortly after leaving Georgetown, Jeff was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia. In addition to his many contributions in industry, Jeff also received patents for several of his inventions in computer technology.

For hobbies, Jeff was an accomplished musician who played the piano and the French horn. Perhaps his voice was the instrument he loved using the most as a member of the Norwegian Men’s Chorus in Madison, Wisconsin. Shortly after moving to Austin, Jeff auditioned and became an active member of the Austin Civic Chorus where he also served as President of the Board of Directors. Among his hobbies, Jeff was an amateur vintner who grew his own grapes and produced several vintages of red wine. In his spare time, Jeff also loved fishing the lakes of Minnesota and Canada, bay fishing off Port Aransas, and deep sea off the coasts of Florida and Acapulco, Mexico. Jeff will be remembered for his laughter, love of good food and wine, generosity, and kind heart so full of love for all.

Jeffrey leaves behind his beloved wife of 28 years, Vicki, and his sister Cheryl and brother-in-law, Larry Coble of West Columbia, South Carolina, and brothers Greg and Steven of Charleston, West Virginia. Along with his immediate family, Jeff will be missed by his brother-in-law, Robert Lykins of Hutto, Texas, his many nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends. Not to be forgotten, he also leaves behind his sweet fur baby, Tessa.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, September 29th at Providence Funeral Home in Taylor, Texas, from 5:00-7:00 pm.

The Rowe family would like to extend their sincere gratitude for Jeff’s compassionate care to the staff of The Cottages at Chandler Creek and, especially, to the wonderful staff from Divinity Hospice. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to WeeRescue of Austin, Hutto Lutheran Church, the Biggs Brain Institute of San Antonio, or any scholarship for Taylor High School Seniors.