John William Lowe, Jr.

Published 3:30 pm Friday, February 3, 2023

John William Lowe, Jr., age 76, a resident of Grimesland, NC, died Monday, January 30, 2023, at Hospice House in Greenville, NC after a period of declining health. He was a devoted husband, a dedicated educator, a sports enthusiast, an avid reader, a loving uncle, and a good friend.

A celebration of life will be held at 12:00 PM Saturday, February 11, 2023, in the Chapel of Paul Funeral Home & Crematory and will be officiated by Rev. Gene Williams. Visitation will precede the service at 11:00 AM.

John was born December 12, 1946, in Washington, DC and graduated from Woodward School for Boys where he was a three-sport athlete. The school athletic fields were on the Ellipse on the grounds of the White House. He graduated from East Carolina University in 1970 where he was sports editor for both the Buccaneer yearbook and the East Carolinian newspaper and was inducted into Alpha Phi Gamma journalism honor society. His duties as a sportswriter led him to work with game statistics for both basketball and football at ECU, where he served fifty seasons each.

After graduation, he taught for two years at Walstonburg Elementary before teaching middle school in Chocowinity for thirty years. After retirement, he worked in after-school enrichment programs at Chocowinity and did substitute work at Chocowinity Middle, Southside High School, and Beaufort County Early College High School. He spent several years as a homebound tutor for the Beaufort County School system, serving students from every school in the county. During his teaching career, he also served as assistant baseball coach with Neal Titus for several years. During the summers of the 1970s and 1980s, he worked at the Putt-Putt miniature golf course in Greenville where he enjoyed seeing many of his students come to play and developed lasting friendships with adult league players.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Nelda Sullivan Lowe; brothers- and sisters-in-law Linda and Jerome Naylor, Helen Brooks, and Judy and Leroy Waters; nieces and nephews Michael Watkins, LeRoy Watkins, Chris Watkins, Jeanette Jackson, Holly Sturges, Jerry Naylor, Norman Brooks, Jason Brooks, Johnathan Brooks, Julie Randolph, JoEllen Hemink, and Emily Page; and feline companions Kinky, Buttercup, Pepper, and Lucky. John was preceded in death by his parents John W. Lowe, Sr. and Ruth Carden Lowe, sister Barbara Watkins, and nephew Mark David Watkins.

Those wishing to make a memorial tribute in John’s name are asked to consider The John and Nelda Lowe Endowment in the Honors College at ECU. The mailing address is ECU Office of Gift Records, 2200 South Charles Boulevard, Mail Stop 301, Greenville, NC 27858-4353. Checks should be payable to ECU Foundation, Inc. You might also consider your local Humane Society or St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Condolences may be addressed to the family online by visiting www.paulfuneralhome.com.

Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Lowe family.