Malad…On Tuesday, September 29, 2020, William Frederick Lower, loving husband and father of seven children, passed away at the age of 93. He is preceded in death by one grandson, Benjamin, and by his six siblings, Sis, Bud, Helen, Treva, Bette, and Bob. William (Bill) was the last living child of the Ruth Anderson and Lyle Lower children.
Bill was born on August 23, 1927, in Lingle, Wyoming, the middle boy of seven children. His family moved to Idaho when he was two years old. The children were raised during the Depression with the family moving frequently in and around the Wendell and Twin Falls area. He graduated from Twin Falls High School in 1945, then was quickly drafted and served almost 2 years in the U.S. Army at Fort Lewis in Washington.
When he returned, he enrolled at the University of Idaho, where he met the woman he would marry, Lois Bush. They were both in the Rodeo Club, and after wooing her with his baritone voice and guitar playing, they married when she graduated in 1953 with a degree in Journalism. Bill graduated two years later in 1955 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He started work for Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing, spending six years in Milwaukee and Houston.
In 1961, he went to work for Hercules Aerospace in Salt Lake City, was transferred to New Jersey in 1968, and then back to Salt Lake in 1972.
He was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1963 and then their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple in 1964.
The following years included operating Sunbeam Resort near Stanley, Idaho on the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River and a farm near Eureka, Nevada. He also worked as a plant engineer for gold mines in Eureka and Battle Mountain, Nevada and for a zinc mine near Clayton, Idaho. In 1982, he returned to Hercules, and retired officially in 1989. In 1993, Bill and Lois returned to Malad to live in her family home.
Bill loved reading westerns by Zane Grey and Louis L’Amore, plus he enjoyed old time country western music, with some of his favorite singers being Eddie Arnold and Patsy Cline. And, of course, his favorite actor was John Wayne (Bill owned all his movies). Watching a John Wayne movie with popcorn, dark chocolate, and a Dr. Pepper was the highlight of the week in our house (oh, and don’t forget the home-made dried apricots). Another passion of Bill’s was singing. He sang the Messiah with the Oratorio Society of Utah for many Christmases, joined by his son Will, daughter Deborah and sister-in-law Nancy. Bill also sang with the Salt Lake City-based Olympus Male Chorus for many years. He loved playing softball and baking oatmeal butterscotch cookies–and most anything else. At Christmas time, he loved being a big humbug, wearing his Grinch pajamas that his daughter, Gail, got for him.
He and his wife, Lois, have been active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for many years, both serving in many capacities, as well as serving two service missions: one in Greeley, Colorado and one in Stockton, California. They also served as volunteers in the Malad Stake Family History Center for nearly 20 years. Bill loved helping his neighbors and had many friends in the community. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Bill is survived by his loving wife, Lois, and children, Deborah Lower, in Clearwater, Florida; Gail Connor, in Malad, Idaho; Marianne Lower, in Clearwater, Florida; Lyle (Shauna) Lower, in South Jordan, Utah; William F. (Kristen) Lower, Jr., in Rockland, Idaho; Tom (Becky) Lower, in Preston, Idaho; and Andrew (Mark) Lower in Wilmington, Delaware. He has 17 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, with one more on the way!
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, October 24, 2020 in the Malad City 4th Ward LDS Chapel. Interment will be in the Malad City Cemetery.