Ralph James Lowden

Ralph James Lowden, 88, Kokomo, passed away on Friday, January 18, 2019, at Wellbrooke of Kokomo.  He was born April 25, 1930, in Caspian, Michigan, to Ralph and Dorothy Lowden.  On October 25, 1958, he married Norma Rose Brown, at Christ the King Catholic Church in Evansville, and she survives.

Ralph graduated from Stanbaugh High School, in Stanbaugh, Michigan, in 1949.  He earned his Bachelor Degree in Psychology from the University of Omaha in 1966 and earned his Master’s Degree in Education from Ball State University in 1976.   He had also attended Alma College, in Alma, Michigan, and Marquette University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is where he and Norma met while they were both students there.

He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1949 and was honorably discharged while serving in Germany in 1952.  In 1955, he re-enlisted in the Air Force and graduated from the Air Force Flight School, in Texas, in 1957, and was stationed at Bunker Hill Air Force Base in Indiana.  From November 1966 to November 1967, he was stationed in Vietnam and was then assigned to Grissom Air Force Base.  He retired in August 1973 after twenty years of service in the Air Force.

In 1976, he was hired as an industrial arts teacher in the Kokomo Center Schools, first at Haworth High School and then at Sycamore School.  He retired from teaching in February 1990.

Ralph enjoyed reading the Bible and other books on his Kindle, working on the computer and in his workshop, and watching EWTN, the History Channel, the Military Channel and others, but most of all, he loved and enjoyed his family.

In addition to his wife, Norma Lowden, he is survived by three sons and one daughter who were a great source of love and pride to him, Mark (Jill) Lowden, Philip (Conover) Lowden, Paul (Marlene) Lowden and Susan Spence; grandchildren, Rebecca (Zach) Grawcock, Kathryn (Dan) Speer, Rachel (Jeremy) Keaton, Sarah Lowden, Emily (Robert) Delk, Kelsey Lowden, Amy Packer, Amanda (Eric) Hollenweger and Dustin Spence; great-grandchildren, Joci and Cody Packer, Emma Hollenweger and Olivia Delk; sisters, Nancy Leonhart and Barbara Lowden; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Joel Lowden; brother, Daniel Lowden; and his grandmother, Emma Lowden Delles, who lovingly raised him in her home from the age of four.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 25, 2019, at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 3155 S. 200 W., Kokomo, with Rev. Fr. Matthew Arbuckle the celebrant.  Entombment will follow in Sunset Memory Garden Cemetery with military honors provided by the United States Air Force and the Kokomo VFW Military Rites Team.  Friends are invited to visit with the family an hour prior to the service on Friday and from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Shirley & Stout Funeral Home & Crematory, 1315 W. Lincoln Rd., Kokomo, where the Rosary will be offered at 6:30 p.m.  Messages of condolence may be left online at www.shirleyandstout.com.

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