Frances Elizabeth ("Jill") Lowrie

Frances Elizabeth (“Jill”) Lowrie was born in Watertown, N.Y. to Leonard and Fannie Whistler on February 5, 1920. She had three brothers, Jack, Bill and Len. When she was 13, their father died. Jill graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor of science degree and met her husband Bob while working as a chemist. They married on February 23, 1946 in Syracuse, N.Y.

The newlyweds moved to Bellefonte, Penn. where Bob received his Ph.D. in metallurgy from Penn State and daughters Jacqueline and Joanne were born. Their next move was to Cleveland, where daughter Jeanne was born. In Lewiston, N.Y., Bob worked for Union Carbide while Jill raised the family. They then moved to Colonial Village near Nyack, N.Y. and were active in the First Baptist Church of Nyack, where Jill was chairman of the board of deaconesses, and where daughter Janet was born.

When Bob accepted a job with Owens-Corning Fiberglas they moved to Granville, Ohio for three years before settling in Fullerton, Calif., where Bob worked for Northrup and Jill was active in the Newcomers. In 1972, Jill and Bob moved to Berkeley Heights, N.J., where Jill worked as a dietician in local schools and hospitals.

Jill and Bob retired happily to Fallbrook, Calif. in 1991, participating in the Gem and Mineral Society, the Garden Club, the Reche Club, and Fallbrook Community Baptist Church, and playing bridge and gardening. They traveled extensively and visited many of the friends they had made over the years. In Fallbrook, they lived on Alvarado Street for many years, then moved to Eastridge, where they enjoyed the community activities and made many more dear friends. Bob passed away on July 4, 2009.

In 2010, Jill moved to Laguna Hills, where she was a member of Grace Hills Church and lived at the Wellington, enjoying the bridge and investment clubs and doing T’ai Chi. Jill peacefully passed away on September 17, 2014 at the age of 94. She was known for her kind spirit, generosity, and fun-loving disposition and will be greatly missed by her brother Len and his wife Kate and by her daughters Susan Voelker, Jacqueline Lowrie Read, Joanne Sutch, Jeanne Williams, and Janet Duffey, and by her nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Family and friends will miss Jill’s warm and friendly personality, whether she knew you for moments or a lifetime. A memorial service in Jill’s honor will be held at Grace Hills Church, 24521 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills on September 27 at 10 a.m., and Jill will be buried in a private family service at the Fallbrook Masonic Cemetery later that day.