Lowry, Dr. Earl Cranston 1907-2002

LOWRY, HATCHER, KING, SISTRUNK, ODOM, BLAKESLEE, BAILEY, EVANS, AKERS

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 6/13/2024 at 11:55:01

Dr. Earl Cranston Lowry VETERAN
BIRTH
20 Jul 1907
Elrod, Robeson County, North Carolina, USA
DEATH
28 Mar 2002 (aged 94)
Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee, USA
BURIAL
Zion Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Zion, Maury County, Tennessee, USA
MEMORIAL ID
78090531 · View Source
MEMORIAL
PHOTOS 6
FLOWERS 2
Earl Cranston was the eldest child of Rev. Doctor Fuller and Jessie Hatcher Lowry. He married Olivia King on May 23, 1936, and their marriage produced two daughters. He achieved the rank of colonel in the United States Army, served in World War II and was a physician to generals Eisenhower and Patton.

The following was taken from the Mar. 30. 2002 edition of THE ROBESONIAN:

Earl C. Lowry, 94, of W. Ninth Street, died Thursday at Life Care Center in Columbia, Tenn.

The funeral is 11 a.m. Tuesday at Zion Presbyterian Church in Maury County near Columbia, the Revs. J. Arch Warren and Jerry Lowry officiating. Burial will follow in the Zion Churchyard with military honors provided by Herbert Griffin American Legion Post 19.

A native of Robeson County, he was the son of the late Rev. Fuller Lowry and Jessie Hatcher Lowry. After graduating from the University of Chattanooga in 1927, Lowry spent two years as a science instructor in North Carolina, and later at Vanderbilt University where he received his medical degree in 1933. He received four years of surgical training at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville before entering the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1937.

In a medical career that spanned more than three decades, his accomplishments include, service in World War II, commanding the 195th General Hospital in France, receiving the "Legion of Merit Award" for his contribution in Washington D.C. as the assistant executive director of the Office for Dependents Medical Care, an innovative program used as the model for Medicare. He also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1999.

He was the past commander with the American Legion in Des Moines, Iowa and a member of the Civil War Round Table.

Surviving are his wife, Olivia King Lowry of Columbia; two daughters, Anne Sistrunk of Knoxville and Rose Odom of San Diego; one brother, Bruce Lowry of Dallas; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be Monday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Oakes and Nichols Funeral Home and Tuesday after 10 a.m. at Zion Presbyterian Church in Columbia, Tenn.

***NOTE: In 1924, he received a high school diploma from what is presently known as the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Prior to 1926, the school, then Croatan Normal School, provided primary and secondary education to Robeson County's Native American children. In July 2007, the Heritage Walk was dedicated to serve as a permanent monument to all of the university's graduates from 1905 to 1954. Dr. Lowry was honored by having his name engraved on a brick in the Heritage Walk walkway in front of Old Main, the oldest building on the campus.
Inscription
COL US ARMY
WORLD WAR II

Colonel MC US Army

married

May 23, 1936

At Rest
Family Members
Parents

Rev Doctor Fuller Lowry
1881–1977

Jessie M. Hatcher Lowry
1899–1941

Spouse

Olivia King Lowry
1911–2006 (m. 1936)

Siblings

Kermit Lowry
1909–1984

Lessie Maudina Lowry Blakeslee
1912–1954

Ouida Frances Lowry Bailey
1915–1997

Lorraine Cleatius Lowry Evans
1917–1957

Fred D. "Bud" Lowry
1919–1993

Cynthia B. Lowry Akers
1926–1965

Bruce Lowry
1931–2006 ~ The Des Moines (IA) Register 04 April 2002.