Lowell Ray Dibble

Lowell Dibble, 103, passed away on Sunday, February 8, 2026 at Harmony Cedar Rapids.

Visitation will be held from 9-10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 14, 2026 at Lensing Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City. A funeral service will follow at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be at St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

Lowell was born in Dayton, Ohio on March 17, 1922 to Ray M. Dibble and Anna A. (Weaver) Dibble.

Lowell was an avid radio operator. He started building radios from crystal sets at age 13 and took the FCC test for an amateur radio license at age 16. After high school he passed the FCC exams for a First-Class Telephone and Second-Class Telegraph license. He worked several radio related jobs including operator on a coal freighter in the Great Lakes and radio equipment installation on military equipment at Wright Field in Dayton. The latter was where he met his future wife, Margaret Rehak.

In March of 1943 he joined the Merchant Marines as radio officer on ocean going vessels. His assignments included a cargo ship loaded with bombs, a troop transport that carried troops to places in the Caribbean Sea and Brazil, and a coastal tanker carrying oil from ports in the Caribbean Sea and South America to cities along the Atlantic Coast.

Lowell left the Merchant Marines in March of 1946 and got married to Margaret. He earned a BS Degree in Electrical Engineering from Ohio Northern University. His career consisted of design, program management, and sales activities at Bendix in Baltimore and Collins Avionics in Dallas and Cedar Rapids.

In addition to amateur radio, he developed an interest in fly fishing. He tied all of the flies he used and built fly rods from purchased blanks. After he retired he also took up the hobby of photographing birds, wild flowers, butterflies and other wildlife.

Lowell had a positive outlook on life and friendly demeanor that made him a joy to be around. He had the ability to make people smile, with his witty jokes and great sense of humor. Lowell was able to make friends quickly, and love them as though he had known them all his life. This helped him live a long and independent life up until his final days.

Lowell and Margaret were married for 72 years. She passed away in November of 2018. He is survived by his four children: Alan from Ireland, Victoria (Michelle) from Spicewood, Texas, Mark from Morse, Iowa and Bruce (Andrea) from Solon, Iowa as well as two grandchildren, Mason and Nora.