Law student passes away at 64

04/30/2008

Law student passes away at 64

 

David Lowsley with child 

David Lowsley and his
only grandchild, Bayley,
snuggle in this photo
taken last August.
(Photo courtesy of
 the Lowsley family)
     David W. Lowsley II, a retired international business executive and current student at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, died at his home in Tempe on April 14, 2008. He was 64.
     David was a charismatic, ambitious, intelligent man who packed a lot into those six decades, said his sons, David P. Lowsley, of Hanover, N.H., and Michael Lowsley, of Haverhill, Mass.
     "At ASU, and especially at the law school, he'd found a home that he was happy with, an environment that was engaging," said his son, David, a senior systems manager for Liberty International who was on business in Istanbul when notified of his father's unexpected death.
     The son of a cattle rancher/businessman, David grew up in Guatemala, Honduras and California, as well as in Missouri and Oklahoma, where he attended military school. He received a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of Southern California, then served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, achieving the rank of captain.
      After earning his MBA in International Relations from Thunderbird, the Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, David worked for Ford Motor Co. in Brazil, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Spain. He was fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, made split-second decisions and had a knack for public speaking.
     "He had an air of confidence and an ease in delivering presentations to large crowds. He made it look easy," his son, David, said.
     After 14 years at Ford, he was recruited to join the Chrysler Corp. as Director of International Sales by then-Executive Vice President Robert Lutz. David was responsible for successfully re-introducing the Chrysler brand into the European market. 
     "His motto, for the most part, was, `Make it happen,'" said son Michael. "He never wanted to hear excuses for why something hadn't been accomplished. He just wanted you to `Make it happen.'"
      After a scare with melanoma, David decided to leave the corporate world, and he purchased a multi-franchise auto dealership in Lebanon, NH, which he named Damar Motors.
      David kept a four-stanza poem that his mother, Eleanor, gave him, titled, "Don't Quit." The prose ends, "So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit; it's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit."
     Those words served David well, both in 1988 when he successfully battled malignant melanoma and beginning in 2000 when he began showing symptoms of what was later diagnosed as Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 8. It's a genetic, neurodegenerative disease, for which there is no treatment nor cure, that impacts movement and speech.
     Still, David wasn't about to let the disease thwart his long-held desire to attend law school. Although his sons worried that his worsening imbalance would put him at physical risk, his three years at the law school turned out to be an ideal intellectual fit.
      "When he told me he was going to law school, I thought, `I'd pay to be in the courtroom the first time the judge said to him `overruled,'" Michael said. "`What do you mean, `overruled?'"
     Dean Patricia White said, "David's determination and courage were an inspiration to all who knew him. We shall miss him very much."
     Professor Betsy Grey said David was a dedicated student who never missed a class, despite his medical problems.
     "He was very engaged in the subject of our class, Neuroscience and Law, often staying after class to talk to us about it, and had begun work on an ambitious research paper for the course. He clearly enjoyed the study of law," Grey said.
      In addition to his two sons, David is survived by his wife, Marsha, of Fort Collins, Colo., daughter, Kathryn, of Littleton, Colo., parents, David W. and Eleanor, of Fort Collins, daughter-in-law, Billie-Jean and granddaughter, Bayley, both of Haverhill, Mass., four sisters, Sharron Pierce, of San Antonio, Texas, Deline Kerstiens, of Golden, Colo., Kathy Johnson, of Fort Collins, and Lynn Hartley, of Austin, Texas, one brother, Thomas, of Kansas City, Mo., his Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Sandy of Bonita Springs, Fla., and numerous nieces and nephews.
     A celebration of his life will be held by the family this summer in Fort Collins. Friends are invited to submit sentiments about David and condolences to his family at InMemoryofDavid@Lowsley.net.
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