Martha Lucille Lowery (Henry)

Martha Lucille (Henry) Lowery, 92, passed away on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, at home in Missoula.

She was born Nov. 28, 1923, on a farm in Logan County, Ohio. The eldest of five children born to Cleon Henry and Ruth Greenlee, she grew up in Delaware, Ohio. After graduating from Willis High School in Delaware she attended Ohio Wesleyan University, earning her degree in 1945. She traveled to Washington, D.C. and started working at the Walter Reed Hospital hoping to join the service, but did not pass the physical. A short time later she was recommended for and accepted a job at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore as a dietitian. After four years there, her career took her to the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston where she spent another four years as a surgical dietitian. She was proud of her service and fondly remembered her adventures at these leading hospitals, where she worked with many ground breaking doctors. She then became the Kennebec County extension agent in Maine, living in the small town of Hallowell and travelling around the county providing nutrition education and leading support groups. She was awarded a scholarship at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where she earned her master's degree in public health nutrition in 1954. After an internship at the Wisconsin State Health Department in Madison, she was offered a job there. In Madison she met David Lowery. They married in 1958 and moved to Missoula where David was employed with the Forestry Sciences Laboratory and Martha worked at the Northern Pacific Hospital. She later worked at the Missoula County Health Department as the director of the WIC program. Martha and David had three children, David Perry Jr., Ann Elizabeth and Matthew Evan.

In 1973, Martha and David joined the Peace Corps, and left Missoula with the family to work in Santiago, Chile, for two years. This period was a highlight of Martha's life, and prompted more international trips and subsequent commitments with the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. Both with David and on her own, Martha traveled throughout Latin America, Europe, China, Australia and New Zealand, northern Africa and the United States.

Martha was a natural conversationalist and loved a good story, talking with and getting to know people. Her genuine interest in others frequently led her to appreciate and understand the unique qualities and histories of the people she met in distinctive ways. She had a curious mind and a love of learning until the final days of her life, an adventurous spirit, calm inner strength and a deeply caring temperament. She was a matriarchal figure to many.

Martha was preceded in death by her husband David; brothers, Walter and John Henry; sister Judith Wilson; her parents and her precious grandsons, Colter (2006) and Bridger Lowery (2001-2015). Martha is survived by her children David Jr. and his wife Susan Morasco Lowery; Ann and her spouse Allison Powers, Matthew and his wife Katie LaSalle Lowery; grandchildren, Stephanie, Angela and Anthony Morasco, Abby and Henry Powers-Lowery; her brother Donald and his wife Gloria, and many members of the extended Henry and Lowrey families.

A memorial celebration of Martha's life will be held in the summer. For those who wish to honor Martha, the family suggests donations to or service with the Missoula Food Bank.


Read Martha Lowery's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.