Carl T. Lowe's Obituary
Carl T. Lowe of Brandon, Florida died October 5, 2016 in Tampa. He was 79.
Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina on June 4, 1937, Carl, the middle child between his older brother Johnny and his little sister Linda, grew-up in the nearby semi-rural town of Lyman, SC surrounded by small farms and cotton fields connected by red dirt roads. It was a tough upbringing in a tough time, during and after World War II, where “Burr” found happiness in his friends, in music, and in racing the back roads in his beloved ’49 Ford Club Coupe before graduating from Byrnes High School in 1956. Carl’s motivation and determination to succeed led him first to Spartanburg Junior College (Associate of Arts, 1959) and then on to Western Carolina College (Bachelor of Science, 1961.)
During and after college, Carl was in the National Guard, US Army Reserve, and the US Army totaling roughly 24 years of service to his country. The Army took him to so many places to live and go to school – and, to fight – from that humble beginning in Basic Training in SC, to posts in the Midwest and the Southwest, and to a wonderful 3 years in Paris, France with his new bride Martha Ann Balliew. It was here where Carl saw much of Europe, broadening his world and bringing into it his first child, Carla, in 1963, before returning to the US for yet more training and relocations. His second child, Jeffery, was born in El Paso, Texas in 1967.
After serving in Vietnam, Carl came home to a computer job at the Pentagon and settled his family at Dale City, Virginia where he would spend the next 9 years, a time neatly bisected by a year in Turkey, expanding his resume in the area of computer data systems used to support operations and command. It was in the early years of this tenure that his third child, Todd, was born in Quantico in 1972. Carl retired from active service as a Major in 1979.
His first few years as a civilian weren’t so easy. Carl opened a branch office for a DC-area based computer company that worked for the military. This brought Carl and his family to Virginia Beach, but this was short-lived as the office closed soon after it opened, a casualty of a slow economic period. He spent a few tough years managing a hardware and paint store and making ends meet with Martha.
But, Carl had another career ahead of him, this time in Florida. His sister called in the middle of the night one night to offer her brother a job with a new healthcare company she and her husband started in Clearwater, Florida. While he knew next to nothing about selling medical products, and even less about Medicare, Carl jumped at the chance to work with computers, and manage an office, leaving in the dust those tough couple of years he spent in Virginia Beach.
His years in Florida were full of ups and downs. On one hand, Carl was better off than he’d ever thought he would be given his humble beginnings, but these years were also tainted by significant loss. In the 1990s, Carl first lost his sister, Linda, to cancer followed soon afterwards by Martha, his wife of 35 years, to the same disease.
But, those years in Florida in the decades straddling the new millennium also saw the birth of his 6 grandchildren – 4 boys and 2 girls – each of which developed their own kind of special attachment to him over time. And, in the last few months, Carl even held his first great-grandchild.
Until his health kept him from doing so, Carl spent many years as a consistent church-goer, a deacon and Gideon, and drew himself close to the Lord and all of the people around him. Since moving to Brandon 2 years ago, Carl made lots of friends at Hawthorn Village, too, and most recently, at Superior Residences. Carl will be remembered for his wit, charm, irreverence, and infectious laugh and smile. He leaves behind a large family which loved him dearly and will remember him forever.
Visitation Friday Oct. 14, 6:00-8:00 PM followed by the funeral Saturday, Oct. 15, 10:00 AM at the funeral home, 693 S. Belcher Rd, Clearwater. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Cancer Society or the American Diabetes Association.
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