Nolan Lloyd Lowe

Nolan Lloyd Lowe

Born: November 4, 1933

Santa Clara, UT

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Most of you know me. I am Cindy Lowe Martin, daughter of Nolan and Ann Lowe. My father Nolan Lloyd Lowe was born on November 4, 1933 in Santa Clara, UT. He was the oldest child of the oldest child etc five generations. I am the sixth generation to be a first born!

Our father, Nolan was born to Lloyd Lowe and Lula Adams Lowe. Both of his parents were descendants of the Utah pioneers who settled in St George, UT area and help build the church in the west. He was the eldest of six children: his sister, Myrna, who died as a toddler, and was sorely missed by her family. Next was brother Douglas, then sister Patricia, sister Sybil, and then little brother Donald. Patricia is the only surviving of his siblings, who resides in Reno, NV.

The name Lowe in German means "Lion" and our dad had the tenacity and boldness of a lion all of his life. He needed this characteristic to overcome all the trials he was given. He was born with a club foot and the Dr in St George fixed it by breaking and go through a series of setting and casting. He wore a brace for the first few years of his life, so he learned how to walk with a brace on his leg. As a result, his left leg was shorter than the other. He compensated by straightening his posture and standing on his right leg.

His parents settled in the small farming town of Bunkerville, NV where he was raised for his first ten years. He would often talk about his grandparents (Milo and Eunice Adams) who lived next door. Milo had a ranch and they raised cattle, horses, chickens, and a large garden. Dad would love to go visit his grandparents and help his grandfather with daily chores. In those times during the Great Depression, they were blessed by being self sufficient raising their own food. I'm sure that dad was taught to gather eggs, help with weeding and picking vegetables, and plucking and dressing chickens. He also helped his grandma and mother in the kitchen baking, cooking, and canning. They used a wood cook stove. They had no electricity during those years.

They didn't have automated machinery back then so they pitched hay into horse-drawn wagons and tromped the hay to compact it for storage. He recalled a time that he witnessed his grandpa one hot afternoon choke when a grasshopper flew right down his throat!

Dad would sell eggs to the general store so he could raise money to buy candy or tickets to the movie theater. He got to see the premier of The Wizard of OZ there. He recently went with the Senior Living group to see the "prequel" movie Wicked which he commented "was nothing like the original".

Dad was influenced by my great grandma who he attended church with at a young age. He was also baptized a member of the Church at the age of 8. Since there wasn't any nearby font for the baptism, the children were baptized in the baptismal font in the St. George Temple. At the time he was the only one attending with her. But she faithfully took her grandson on Sundays.

They had a wonderful life there in Bunkerville, though difficult to find jobs in their small community. When the United States became involved in WW2, my grandpa Lloyd Lowe took a job in Las Vegas to work on Nellis Air Force base building munition storage and barracks. Grandpa and Grandma moved the family to Las Vegas and bought a new tract home downtown that included all the comforts. This happened when dad was 10, a time of moving up in the world.

Dad had a neighbor Larry Dawson across the street who was adventurous. They grew up together through high school and even to college. He was always building something: his hobbies included building model airplanes, box cars, riding bicylcles and motorcycles, and playing guitar in high school. Dad was also a member of the ROTC both in High School and college.

When dad went to college at University of Nevada Reno, He met our mother Ann in typing class. I think they were smitten from the beginning. During the winter semester, mom and her roommates would practice throwing snowballs at Nolan and friends while they walked between classes from the dorms!

They had a lot of fun during the following semesters. Their dates included attending games and going to the Wig Wam restaurant to get a slice of apple pie with warm wig wam sauce poured over it. They walked everywhere for that first year because he didn't have a car at the time.

The war in Korea was still going on and the draft was imminent for our dad. When he received his draft letter it became clear he needed to get serious about his relationship with our mom. and during the winter break he invited mom to come to Las Vegas on the train. His plan was to propose marriage to her. He said she was the prettiest girl had ever seen as she stepped off the train! They drove around Las Vegas and he ask her to marry him! She said Yes! They immediately went to pick out an engagement ring and proceeded to announce it to his parents! They were thrilled!

Dad was called up to go to Ulm, Germany instead of Korea! Mom saw him off to Boot camp and then off to Europe. She waited for his return for 2 years while he guarded the German border from the threat of Russia. Dad had a very interesting time in Germany. He was able to see many wonderful things including the Louvre Museum and the Eifel Tower, The Ulm Cathedral, the largest cathedral in Europe. They wrote faithfully every week. When dad was honorably discharged from his service in December 1957, he went home briefly and then headed down to Los Angeles where mom was. She had been preparing for his homecoming. In fact, she had her wedding dress and everything ready to tie the knot! They went to pick out dad's ring, get the marriage license, and gather up the minister and witnesses. They said I Do on Christmas Eve 1957. On their honeymoon they took a weeklong trip up the California coast, across Washington state where they saw the Aurora Borealis in the night sky, across Idaho, and then back to Los Angeles to find work for Dad.

He hunted briefly for work there to no avail, So he called his dad who had an immediate opening at the carpenter shop at the Hotel Thunderbird. Dad and Mom packed up their belongings and headed to Las Vegas where he took the position as a carpenter under his dad.

They purchased a 27 ft. trailer house and set up housekeeping in the Bond Trailer Park on Paradise Rd. During their stay there I was born along with my younger brother David. We lived there for 4-5 years. Eventually they had saved enough money to purchase some land to build a house in Paradise Valley. His high school friend, Walt Amundson was interested in buying the half acre next door. Together they helped build their homes from the ground up. We had many wonderful experiences there on Pine Street with the Amundsons. As best friends and next door neighbors our families enjoyed helping and serving each other in many ways for years to come.

One significant thing that forever changed our lives as a family was that the missionaries from the church came knocking on our door. My mom, Ann wanted to know more. So she began the discussions with the missionaries. My dad wasn't prepared for the change that was coming, but mom had an unquenchable desire to learn about the church of Jesus Christ. One of the changes that was coming was that she learned about the Word of Wisdom. Dad had been smoking and other habits that he would have to give up and he knew that if mom joined the church it would change his life drastically! But mom had a burning desire to know the truth and she knew with study and prayer that it was true. They had discussions about these changes and Dad realized he knew the truth too. So, after years of smoking, he gave that up, began attending church and Mom was soon baptized. Dad was ordained in the priesthood and was given callings to teach first in Aaronic priesthood and then in Elders Quorum.

I was baptized a year later, and one of the fond memories I had was going to Primary as an 8 year old. We had the Daddy Daughter Date that my Dad and I attended. We had a ball!

Recently, I had a dream of that date. I remember showing my dad a dance step he was trying to learn. And he turned to me and said, Watch This!… and he took off in a sprint across the gym! In my dream he ran like an athlete and he was a perfectly whole 33 year old! Seeing that in my dream was an assurance that he is made whole from all the injuries, disease, and handicaps that he had in his life. That he has won the race and endured to the end. And will rise again through Jesus Christ's gift.

Finally with my testimony, I want to share that we were sealed to our parents in the St. George Temple when I was 10. That was a beautiful experience seeing our parents across from us kneeling in the sealing room. Our brother Gary wasn't born yet, but he was there in spirit and born under the covenant.

Because of those changes that our Dad made and our Mom chose, we are blessed with the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ! It has brought our family so much joy in our lives eternally, and for the Generations to come.

I love my dad, for the strong testimony he had and for the example that he set of hard work, integrity, love and dedication to his family, and serving those he was blessed to know. I thank all of you for attending today and for celebrating a life well lived. Until we meet again, at JESUS' feet. In the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.