Blaine Waring Lowe

Remembering Blaine...

They say that you are alive as long as you live in the memories of those who love you, for Blaine Waring Lowe that will be a very long time. Most everyone in his home of Afton, WY, knew and loved Blaine, and will miss him dearly. Blaine was born in Salmon, ID, on April 21, 1947. He left his earthly home, at age 76, to join his beloved wife Marge on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. They were married in Las Vegas in 1999 until her passing in 2021. He was preceded in death by his father DeVar Wheeler Lowe of Moreland, ID, mother Lucille Afton Waring Lowe of Small, ID, and sister LeeAnn Lowe Chambers Bell Schultz of Pocatello, ID. He is survived by his first wife Ellen Lowe, of Walnut, CA (married 1967 to 1991); their loving children Shelley Weekes of Concord, CA, Lisa Towler of St. Helens, OR, and Robyn Roach of Westminster, CA; and grand-children Syd and Natalie Valett of Concord, CA, and Charlie and Grace Towler of St. Helens, OR, and more family than a person could count, including LeeAnn’s children Ronda Chambers Suggs of Alamogordo, NM, and Michael Chambers of Chino Hills, CA.

He graduated from Perris High School in Perris, CA, in 1965, and was known to zip around town on his treasured Vespa. Blaine met his wife Ellen while attending Compton College in California. They were studying together for accounting class when the instructor asked them to “please refrain” from eating greasy foods while doing their homework. 

Blaine served his country in the US Army at Ft. Hood, TX, was trained as a medic, then in Germany during the Vietnam years, 1968-69. He was proud of his service, but lamented that many of his friends never returned from Vietnam. His training as a medic served him well when his first daughter Shelley was born quickly in the early morning of May 7, 1968, and he delivered her at home before an ambulance could arrive. Lisa and Robyn also proved to be “bullet babies”.

Blaine earned his living driving a catering truck around the Los Angeles area, and also worked as a truck dispatcher in the Port of Long Beach, where he met Marge. He spent the last decades of his life in Star Valley, WY, where he worked at the dump, spent happy hours at the Senior Center, and enjoyed playing BINGO with Marge. They once won $41K, coincidentally on their wedding anniversary. 

His family found a hand-written note after he passed, telling the story of wanting to be an astronaut when he was 11 years old. Soon after, he took a trip to the Palomar Observatory in Southern California, and promptly changed his mind when he found out that astronomers worked very long nights in very cold environments, so he thought he’d find another profession that offered warmer evenings. Blaine was a man who made an impact. Ask anyone who ever met him, and they’ll say they are the best of friends. His passing leaves an enormous hole in many hearts, and saying he will be greatly missed is an enormous understatement.

In lieu of flowers, donations to cover funeral/memorial expenses and a contribution in his honor to the Salt River Center for Seniors would be appreciated https://gofund.me/6dc90d43