Thomas P. Lowry

1932 - 2023

Thomas P Lowry
November 24, 1932 - March 22, 2023

Dr. Thomas Power Lowry (Tom) was born to Richard Simms Lowry and Margaret Power Lowry in 1932. He grew up in Piedmont attending Frank C Havens School and Piedmont H.S. An avid reader from an early age, he taught his younger brother Richard Lowry, Jr. to read. His interests were many and varied, his approach to life was experimental and irreverent. He was an Eagle Scout and together with friends he produced, directed and starred in movies shot on 16mm film that parodied popular films of the 1940s and 50s with names like "The Borgonoff Terror." At Stanford he majored in pre-med, was a member of Zeta Psi fraternity and worked on the Stanford humor magazine, the Chapparel.
With an MD from Stanford he did post doctoral work at UCSF in Psychiatry. He served for two years as doctor in the US Airforce in Texas. He practiced in Marin County, Napa, and supervised hospitals in Las Vegas New Mexico and Las Vegas Nevada. His interest in family genealogy was deep and he produced many well-researched documents about various branches of the Lowry/Power/Simms families. In later life he retired from medical practice and moved to Northern Virginia to do research and write using original Civil War court martial documents as sources. He compiled a large index of previously uncataloged Civil War documents from the National Archives. He produced scores of articles for a variety of publications and published over 25 books on various subjects. The most popular was The Story the Soldiers Wouldn't Tell: Sex in the Civil War. Several of his books paid tribute to his co-researcher and collaborator, Beverly Lowry.
Predeceased by wives, Frances Smith, Anthea Snyder and Beverly. Survived by brother, Richard Lowry who will miss their daily texts (Molley W.) of San Francisco, sons Shawn Lowry (Sue) of Woodinville WA, Richard III (Louisa) of Nevada City, daughter Margot (Bill Baron) of Montara, admiring grandfather to Megan and Melanie Lowry. He liked good food, jokes of many kinds, information in all forms, dogs and conversations with his dear friend Diane. He had recently enjoyed a lively and happy 90th birthday party with family. His friends at Windsong Assisted Living in Petaluma will miss his sense of humor, never ending curiosity and entertaining stories.