Obituary: William Wendell Lowe
August 8, 1927 – October 12, 2026
William Wendell Lowe, 1927-2026
William Wendell Lowe passed peacefully in his sleep with his granddaughter by his side on October 12, 2026. He was 99 years old.
He was born to William Elliot and Ella Viola (Rogers) Lowe in Waterbury, Vermont, on August 8, 1927.
When he was working, he sometimes went by Bill. Most knew him by Wendell.
He grew up on a farm in Waterbury. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, mostly stationed in Germany.
He attended New England Theological Seminary in Boston, where he met his future wife, Jennie. They were married in 1950. He then pastored at a few different churches, including one in New Hampshire and New Brunswick, Canada. He later became an orderly for the Barre City Hospital. This reignited his love for nursing and helping take care of people. So, he went back to school in 1969 and became a registered nurse. He worked for Central Vermont Hospital, spending some time in the emergency room, but mostly working in pediatrics before retiring. His patients still remember him years later.
He and his wife Jennie served the Waterbury Advent Christian Church and then the Green Mountain Community Alliance church in Duxbury. They loved helping with Awana Clubs and Vacation Bible Schools. They also bought a pop-up camper and loved traveling to Maine and Pennsylvania, visiting different campgrounds.
He had a few hobbies that he loved over the years, one being raising sheep when his grandchildren were young, which Jennie hated as they always escaped when he was away from the house. He loved building model airplanes, first from kits and then from blueprints and pictures of real planes. His dear friend Cedric would fly them. In his middle years, he dabbled in painting and in his later years, he loved fixing broken old clocks and playing with different wind instruments.
Not one to sit still, he would go help his nephew Gary on his dairy farm. Even helping deliver a calf in the 1990s. He didn’t know the meaning of slowing down. Nursing never left his blood. He was still “nursing” these past short weeks he was in the nursing home.
Wendell was predeceased by the love of his life, Jennie, their infant daughter Winnona Hope at just three days old, brothers Raphael, Ralph, sister Maybeth, sisters-in-law Barb and Joyce, and brother-in-law Allen.
He is survived by his brother Gordon, son Dana, daughter Deborah (Fred), grandchildren Joy, Heidi (Peter), Lisa (Eric), Billy (Penny), Amy and Jason; great-grandchildren Peter (Brianna), Brian (Catarina), Joshua (Alexis), Daniel, Jacob, Michael, Isaac and Connor. Great-great-grandchildren Kaylee, Riverlee, Braylee and Owen; and many nieces and nephews and dear friends.
The family thanks the crew of the Waterbury Ambulance Service, Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, and Berlin Rehab and Healthcare, all of whom took great care of Wendell.
The family asks that memorial gifts be made to the Waterbury Ambulance Service, 49 Demeritt Place, Waterbury, VT 05676, or Green Mountain Community Alliance Church, 4987 Vermont Route 100, Duxbury, VT 05676.
A memorial service will be held on Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. at Green Mountain Community Alliance Church.