James E. Lowther
May 11, 2022
James Eugene Lowther, 92, of Emporia, KS passed away Wednesday, May 11, 2022, at the Emporia Presbyterian Manor.
Jim was born June 20, 1929, in Emporia, the son of Eugene T. and Isobel J. (Milne) Lowther. He married Virginia Elise Briix January 29, 1955, in Herington, KS. She passed away December 25, 2011.
Surviving family members include daughters, Rebecca (John) Doan of Emporia, and Anne (George) Downing of Rose Hill, KS; grandchildren, Rachel (Kevin Margarucci) Dillon, Gregory Guilfoyle, Jane (Brandon) Tittel, and Paige (Nate) Mitchell; great-grandchildren, Wyatt Guilfoyle, Caleb Guilfoyle, and Evan Guilfoyle.
He is preceded in death by his parents, wife, and his aunt, Kathleen Lowther.
Jim graduated from Emporia High School in 1947. He was a 1951 graduate of William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas University. He then served four years in the Navy as an officer on the destroyer, USS Leonard F. Mason DD 852, in the Pacific during the Korean War.
Opportunity came knocking in 1958, when he returned to Emporia to work for the White family at The Emporia Gazette (1959-1969), as advertising manager and then assistant publisher. (His father worked at the Gazette for 40 years, for both William Allen White and then William L. "Bill" White). While at the Gazette he helped to develop Catfish (later Cablevision), the first cable TV company in Emporia. Jim was a banker for many years at what was originally Citizens National Bank (ultimately Bank of America) in Emporia. He was a state representative in the Kansas Legislature for 21 years (1975-1996). He also served on the Emporia Board of Education. Following his retirement, he served 16 years on the Kansas Civil Service Board. Jim was a member of the Emporia Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, American Legion, and the Emporia Presbyterian Church.
Jim was an avid KU fan and enjoyed reading, sailing, running, traveling, and spending time with his friends and family.
Cremation is planned with a graveside service at 11:00 a.m., Friday, June 17, 2022 at the Patio Garden at Memorial Lawn Cemetery, Emporia. Military honors will be conducted by Ball-McColm Post #5 American Legion and Lowry-Funston Post #1980 Veterans of Foreign Wars. A Celebration of Life will follow from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. that day at the Emporia Country Club. Memorial contributions to William Allen White Community Partnership, Inc., or The Emporia Community Foundation can be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, P.O. Box #175, Emporia, Kansas 66801.
*************************
The Emporia Gazette, 06/18/22, Saturday
A gentleman and gentle man: Friends, colleagues reflect on Jim Lowther's life
By Bobbi Mlynar Special to The Gazette
In modern-day lingo, Jim Lowther would be acknowledged as an expert in conflict resolution.
In reality, Lowther was more than that. Whether in private business or in the Kansas House of Representatives, friends and co-workers say he was a gentleman and a gentle man who helped rival groups settle disputes and come to agreement on the best solutions for the majority of people.
Lowther died at the age of 92 on May 11, in Emporia Presbyterian Manor. His graveside service was held on Friday, May 17, in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. A Celebration of Life followed at the Emporia Country Club.
The Emporia native had graduated from the William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas University and served four years of duty in the Pacific as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War before he and his wife, Virginia, returned to Emporia.
He became advertising manager for The Emporia Gazette, where his father, Eugene T. Lowther, had worked for Gazette owners William Allen White and his son, William Lindsay White. The younger Lowther's new job more closely resembled a homecoming rather than new beginning in a strange place.
Lowther later became The Gazette's assistant publisher and also helped the White family develop "Catfish," the first cable television business in Emporia. Catfish later was sold and renamed Cablevision, which served the community for decades.
Former Gazette Managing Editor Patrick Kelley, who had been hired part-time as a photographer in 1964, recalled Lowther fondly.
Kelley described Lowther as a kind, stable man, with a calming presence; the older man much preferred a workplace atmosphere of cooperation and congeniality rather than conflict.
"He was a get-along kind of guy pretty much," Kelley said. "But it worked for him, because he was able to talk to anybody and make sense, which was rare."
That talent served Lowther well in professional and personal relationships throughout his life, whether he was working in journalism or banking or state government.
After leaving The Gazette, Jim worked for many years as marketing director at the then-Citizens National Bank, which after several ownership changes, ended its operations in Emporia as Bank of America.
Lowther consulted regularly with the bank's various departments to learn what needed to be emphasized or what special programs were to be offered, then honed his promotional materials to suit those departments' needs.
"He was the guy that put together all of the ads that we put in newspapers, stuff like that," said Ken Buchele, then the senior vice president in charge of the bank's commercial loan division.
Lowther also took on some responsibility for training and customer service.
In 1975, Lowther was appointed to the 60th District Kansas House of Representative seat that had become vacant when State Rep. Kermit Oakes resigned for health reasons.
"After he got elected to the legislature, during (the sessions) he was not around, but he was still in charge of our marketing," Buchele said.
Buchele, a Democrat, and Lowther, a Republican, sometimes engaged in good-natured political banter, but Buchele nevertheless respected Lowther's moderate approach to governing and reaching agreement through negotiating and compromising.
"He wasn't a wild liberal wanting to give away money but when the conservatives tried to tighten the screws, it tended to bother him quite a bit," Buchele explained.
"He was always trying to bring the two sides together. I think the one thing that was most important about him was that he was always the moderator. … He didn't like conflict at all."
And Lowther approached disagreements in the workplace with the same attitude, sometimes working behind the scenes to settle tensions.
"He was honest, a very kind and gentle man. He really was," Buchele said. "He and Virginia were a class act as far as I'm concerned."
The Gazette's Kelley saw striking similarities between Republican Lowther and his 17th District counterpart in the Kansas Senate, Democrat Jerry Karr of rural Emporia.
The men's terms overlapped for 20 years. Karr served from 1981 through early January 1999, when he resigned; Lowther served from 1976 to 1996. Both took balanced approaches to governing, were skilled at listening, and willing to work on compromises to pass essential legislation for Kansans.
"I was thinking that with Jim Lowther and Jerry Karr in the Legislature, we were the best-represented district in the state, which was strange," Kelley said. "But I remember Jerry Karr used to talk about him fondly, too."
Lowther's work to coax other legislators into finding common ground culminated in the School District Finance and Quality Performance Act of 1992, better known as the school finance formula. It is, perhaps, the best example of the Emporia native's skill in quelling differences and uniting squabbling politicians in a common cause.
"Jim Lowther was a real statesman," said former Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Democrat from Topeka who was both the youngest state representative elected to the Kansas House, and the longest-serving legislator, with 44 years of service.
Hensley was a career educator in grades K-12 and served on the education committees in both the House and the Senate.
Lowther, a former member of the USD 253 Board of Education, was vice chairman of the House education committee.
Although the men belonged to different political parties, both shared a passion for educating children.
Hensley illustrated Lowther's dedication to voting his beliefs by relating an anecdote involving a school-finance committee meeting held some years before the school finance formula was passed.
"We (Democrats) made a motion to put more money into K-12 education, and Jim voted with us," Hensley said. "And it passed by one vote."
Lowther's perceived "defection" did not sit well with Committee Chairman State Rep. Don Crumbaker, a Republican from Brewster.
"It was kind of an awkward moment, but I recall overhearing the conversation because it got a little loud," Hensley said, adding that Crumbaker had questioned why Lowther voted in line with the Democrats instead of his own party.
"And Jim said, 'Well, Don, I voted that way because it was the right thing to do,'" Hensley said. "That's an example of how Jim Lowther operated in the Legislature. He was always looking out for what was in the best interests of his constituents and especially children."
Lowther also made a point of being available to talk with his constituents, whether it involved meeting with groups or individuals or attending orchestrated state events for constituents.
Former Rep. Keith Roe, R-Mankato, who served in the Kansas House from 1981 through 1994, shared an office suite with Lowther at the Capitol and watched his interactions with the people he represented.
"You have mandatory social events," Roe said, noting that some of legislators who attended were inclined to turn and walk in the other direction when they spotted constituents.
Lowther, however, sought them out.
"Jim was a really easy-going guy," Roe said. "He'd push through those things. He was the type of person you'd want to go sit down with. …
"He was very sincere; he was known for that. Hard-working, conscientious."
Lowther was chairman of the House Education Committee when the Legislature passed the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act.
"Jim was one of the architects of that. … That was definitely bipartisan and became a model," said Emporian Don Hill. "And it's still basically the system that we've got today. Obviously it was amended or changed sometimes, but the essence is the same."
Hill's father-in-law, Lloyd Stone, had followed Lowther as 60th District House Representative; Hill later was elected to fill the 60th seat when Stone decided not to run for a fourth two-year term.
Over the preceding years, through mutual connections with Rotary Club and the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce, Lowther had become Hill's unwitting mentor for a political career that was to come.
Hill, as a Chamber member and later as chairman, became involved in the legislative "Eggs & Issues" gatherings co-sponsored by the Chamber and the League of Women Voters. Area legislators gathered to inform constituents about current happenings in the Legislature and to answer questions from the audience.
Hill also helped coordinate the first Leadership Emporia class in 1988, which included experience on-site with senators and representatives at the Capitol in Topeka. Lowther was only too happy to accommodate the visitors.
"It was a significant layer as far as my opportunity to interact with Jim, to see him at work and in action," Hill said, describing Lowther as always accommodating, thoughtful and considerate, as well as good-humored.
"He just was an excellent role model for what sort of became my style, my interest in being bipartisan. He was so well respected, and part of that was his demeanor. He was just so agreeable and obviously kind, trustworthy."
Lowther had worked well not only with his legislative colleagues but also with the five governors — three Republicans and two Democrats — who came and went during his tenure.
"That was definitely Jim," Hill said. "It was people and policy over party and politics. …
"I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times legislative colleagues mentioned their respect and their high regard for both Jim and Lloyd and the big shoes that they left to fill."
After Lowther left the state political arena, he continued his service to the community and the state.
For 16 years, Lowther was a member of the Kansas Civil Service Board, and was a leader in advocating to build a new, expanded courthouse adjacent to the existing one. The building would be paid for through a modest — but temporary — increase in sales tax and dedicated solely to repaying the bond.
Voters approved the issue, and the extra sales tax brought in even more revenue than had been estimated. As a result, the short-term tax was so successful that the county was able to pay off the new courthouse debt three years earlier than planned.
"Jim was civic-minded and for the greater good of the community," Hill said. And he was skilled in helping develop plans in which the majority of residents could find some common ground and benefit, whether at the local or state level.
"We don't have many Jim Lowthers left in the Kansas Legislature. … And that is very unfortunate," Hensley remarked.
**************************
The Emporia Gazette, 07 Feb 1952, Thursday
Ensign Lowther Home
Ens. James E. Lowther, USNR, is spending a few days visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Lowther, 807 Sherwood, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Milne. He was graduated January 25 from the Navy officer candidate school at Newport, R. I., and is on his way to his assignment on the destroyer Leonard F. Mason in the Pacific. Ensign Lowther will be serving on the ship which is under command of Commander William Caspari, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Caspari of Emporia.
May 11, 2022
James Eugene Lowther, 92, of Emporia, KS passed away Wednesday, May 11, 2022, at the Emporia Presbyterian Manor.
Jim was born June 20, 1929, in Emporia, the son of Eugene T. and Isobel J. (Milne) Lowther. He married Virginia Elise Briix January 29, 1955, in Herington, KS. She passed away December 25, 2011.
Surviving family members include daughters, Rebecca (John) Doan of Emporia, and Anne (George) Downing of Rose Hill, KS; grandchildren, Rachel (Kevin Margarucci) Dillon, Gregory Guilfoyle, Jane (Brandon) Tittel, and Paige (Nate) Mitchell; great-grandchildren, Wyatt Guilfoyle, Caleb Guilfoyle, and Evan Guilfoyle.
He is preceded in death by his parents, wife, and his aunt, Kathleen Lowther.
Jim graduated from Emporia High School in 1947. He was a 1951 graduate of William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas University. He then served four years in the Navy as an officer on the destroyer, USS Leonard F. Mason DD 852, in the Pacific during the Korean War.
Opportunity came knocking in 1958, when he returned to Emporia to work for the White family at The Emporia Gazette (1959-1969), as advertising manager and then assistant publisher. (His father worked at the Gazette for 40 years, for both William Allen White and then William L. "Bill" White). While at the Gazette he helped to develop Catfish (later Cablevision), the first cable TV company in Emporia. Jim was a banker for many years at what was originally Citizens National Bank (ultimately Bank of America) in Emporia. He was a state representative in the Kansas Legislature for 21 years (1975-1996). He also served on the Emporia Board of Education. Following his retirement, he served 16 years on the Kansas Civil Service Board. Jim was a member of the Emporia Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, American Legion, and the Emporia Presbyterian Church.
Jim was an avid KU fan and enjoyed reading, sailing, running, traveling, and spending time with his friends and family.
Cremation is planned with a graveside service at 11:00 a.m., Friday, June 17, 2022 at the Patio Garden at Memorial Lawn Cemetery, Emporia. Military honors will be conducted by Ball-McColm Post #5 American Legion and Lowry-Funston Post #1980 Veterans of Foreign Wars. A Celebration of Life will follow from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. that day at the Emporia Country Club. Memorial contributions to William Allen White Community Partnership, Inc., or The Emporia Community Foundation can be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, P.O. Box #175, Emporia, Kansas 66801.
*************************
The Emporia Gazette, 06/18/22, Saturday
A gentleman and gentle man: Friends, colleagues reflect on Jim Lowther's life
By Bobbi Mlynar Special to The Gazette
In modern-day lingo, Jim Lowther would be acknowledged as an expert in conflict resolution.
In reality, Lowther was more than that. Whether in private business or in the Kansas House of Representatives, friends and co-workers say he was a gentleman and a gentle man who helped rival groups settle disputes and come to agreement on the best solutions for the majority of people.
Lowther died at the age of 92 on May 11, in Emporia Presbyterian Manor. His graveside service was held on Friday, May 17, in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. A Celebration of Life followed at the Emporia Country Club.
The Emporia native had graduated from the William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas University and served four years of duty in the Pacific as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War before he and his wife, Virginia, returned to Emporia.
He became advertising manager for The Emporia Gazette, where his father, Eugene T. Lowther, had worked for Gazette owners William Allen White and his son, William Lindsay White. The younger Lowther's new job more closely resembled a homecoming rather than new beginning in a strange place.
Lowther later became The Gazette's assistant publisher and also helped the White family develop "Catfish," the first cable television business in Emporia. Catfish later was sold and renamed Cablevision, which served the community for decades.
Former Gazette Managing Editor Patrick Kelley, who had been hired part-time as a photographer in 1964, recalled Lowther fondly.
Kelley described Lowther as a kind, stable man, with a calming presence; the older man much preferred a workplace atmosphere of cooperation and congeniality rather than conflict.
"He was a get-along kind of guy pretty much," Kelley said. "But it worked for him, because he was able to talk to anybody and make sense, which was rare."
That talent served Lowther well in professional and personal relationships throughout his life, whether he was working in journalism or banking or state government.
After leaving The Gazette, Jim worked for many years as marketing director at the then-Citizens National Bank, which after several ownership changes, ended its operations in Emporia as Bank of America.
Lowther consulted regularly with the bank's various departments to learn what needed to be emphasized or what special programs were to be offered, then honed his promotional materials to suit those departments' needs.
"He was the guy that put together all of the ads that we put in newspapers, stuff like that," said Ken Buchele, then the senior vice president in charge of the bank's commercial loan division.
Lowther also took on some responsibility for training and customer service.
In 1975, Lowther was appointed to the 60th District Kansas House of Representative seat that had become vacant when State Rep. Kermit Oakes resigned for health reasons.
"After he got elected to the legislature, during (the sessions) he was not around, but he was still in charge of our marketing," Buchele said.
Buchele, a Democrat, and Lowther, a Republican, sometimes engaged in good-natured political banter, but Buchele nevertheless respected Lowther's moderate approach to governing and reaching agreement through negotiating and compromising.
"He wasn't a wild liberal wanting to give away money but when the conservatives tried to tighten the screws, it tended to bother him quite a bit," Buchele explained.
"He was always trying to bring the two sides together. I think the one thing that was most important about him was that he was always the moderator. … He didn't like conflict at all."
And Lowther approached disagreements in the workplace with the same attitude, sometimes working behind the scenes to settle tensions.
"He was honest, a very kind and gentle man. He really was," Buchele said. "He and Virginia were a class act as far as I'm concerned."
The Gazette's Kelley saw striking similarities between Republican Lowther and his 17th District counterpart in the Kansas Senate, Democrat Jerry Karr of rural Emporia.
The men's terms overlapped for 20 years. Karr served from 1981 through early January 1999, when he resigned; Lowther served from 1976 to 1996. Both took balanced approaches to governing, were skilled at listening, and willing to work on compromises to pass essential legislation for Kansans.
"I was thinking that with Jim Lowther and Jerry Karr in the Legislature, we were the best-represented district in the state, which was strange," Kelley said. "But I remember Jerry Karr used to talk about him fondly, too."
Lowther's work to coax other legislators into finding common ground culminated in the School District Finance and Quality Performance Act of 1992, better known as the school finance formula. It is, perhaps, the best example of the Emporia native's skill in quelling differences and uniting squabbling politicians in a common cause.
"Jim Lowther was a real statesman," said former Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Democrat from Topeka who was both the youngest state representative elected to the Kansas House, and the longest-serving legislator, with 44 years of service.
Hensley was a career educator in grades K-12 and served on the education committees in both the House and the Senate.
Lowther, a former member of the USD 253 Board of Education, was vice chairman of the House education committee.
Although the men belonged to different political parties, both shared a passion for educating children.
Hensley illustrated Lowther's dedication to voting his beliefs by relating an anecdote involving a school-finance committee meeting held some years before the school finance formula was passed.
"We (Democrats) made a motion to put more money into K-12 education, and Jim voted with us," Hensley said. "And it passed by one vote."
Lowther's perceived "defection" did not sit well with Committee Chairman State Rep. Don Crumbaker, a Republican from Brewster.
"It was kind of an awkward moment, but I recall overhearing the conversation because it got a little loud," Hensley said, adding that Crumbaker had questioned why Lowther voted in line with the Democrats instead of his own party.
"And Jim said, 'Well, Don, I voted that way because it was the right thing to do,'" Hensley said. "That's an example of how Jim Lowther operated in the Legislature. He was always looking out for what was in the best interests of his constituents and especially children."
Lowther also made a point of being available to talk with his constituents, whether it involved meeting with groups or individuals or attending orchestrated state events for constituents.
Former Rep. Keith Roe, R-Mankato, who served in the Kansas House from 1981 through 1994, shared an office suite with Lowther at the Capitol and watched his interactions with the people he represented.
"You have mandatory social events," Roe said, noting that some of legislators who attended were inclined to turn and walk in the other direction when they spotted constituents.
Lowther, however, sought them out.
"Jim was a really easy-going guy," Roe said. "He'd push through those things. He was the type of person you'd want to go sit down with. …
"He was very sincere; he was known for that. Hard-working, conscientious."
Lowther was chairman of the House Education Committee when the Legislature passed the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act.
"Jim was one of the architects of that. … That was definitely bipartisan and became a model," said Emporian Don Hill. "And it's still basically the system that we've got today. Obviously it was amended or changed sometimes, but the essence is the same."
Hill's father-in-law, Lloyd Stone, had followed Lowther as 60th District House Representative; Hill later was elected to fill the 60th seat when Stone decided not to run for a fourth two-year term.
Over the preceding years, through mutual connections with Rotary Club and the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce, Lowther had become Hill's unwitting mentor for a political career that was to come.
Hill, as a Chamber member and later as chairman, became involved in the legislative "Eggs & Issues" gatherings co-sponsored by the Chamber and the League of Women Voters. Area legislators gathered to inform constituents about current happenings in the Legislature and to answer questions from the audience.
Hill also helped coordinate the first Leadership Emporia class in 1988, which included experience on-site with senators and representatives at the Capitol in Topeka. Lowther was only too happy to accommodate the visitors.
"It was a significant layer as far as my opportunity to interact with Jim, to see him at work and in action," Hill said, describing Lowther as always accommodating, thoughtful and considerate, as well as good-humored.
"He just was an excellent role model for what sort of became my style, my interest in being bipartisan. He was so well respected, and part of that was his demeanor. He was just so agreeable and obviously kind, trustworthy."
Lowther had worked well not only with his legislative colleagues but also with the five governors — three Republicans and two Democrats — who came and went during his tenure.
"That was definitely Jim," Hill said. "It was people and policy over party and politics. …
"I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times legislative colleagues mentioned their respect and their high regard for both Jim and Lloyd and the big shoes that they left to fill."
After Lowther left the state political arena, he continued his service to the community and the state.
For 16 years, Lowther was a member of the Kansas Civil Service Board, and was a leader in advocating to build a new, expanded courthouse adjacent to the existing one. The building would be paid for through a modest — but temporary — increase in sales tax and dedicated solely to repaying the bond.
Voters approved the issue, and the extra sales tax brought in even more revenue than had been estimated. As a result, the short-term tax was so successful that the county was able to pay off the new courthouse debt three years earlier than planned.
"Jim was civic-minded and for the greater good of the community," Hill said. And he was skilled in helping develop plans in which the majority of residents could find some common ground and benefit, whether at the local or state level.
"We don't have many Jim Lowthers left in the Kansas Legislature. … And that is very unfortunate," Hensley remarked.
**************************
The Emporia Gazette, 07 Feb 1952, Thursday
Ensign Lowther Home
Ens. James E. Lowther, USNR, is spending a few days visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Lowther, 807 Sherwood, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Milne. He was graduated January 25 from the Navy officer candidate school at Newport, R. I., and is on his way to his assignment on the destroyer Leonard F. Mason in the Pacific. Ensign Lowther will be serving on the ship which is under command of Commander William Caspari, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Caspari of Emporia.
James E. Lowther
May 11, 2022
James Eugene Lowther, 92, of Emporia, KS passed away Wednesday, May 11, 2022, at the Emporia Presbyterian Manor.
Jim was born June 20, 1929, in Emporia, the son of Eugene T. and Isobel J. (Milne) Lowther. He married Virginia Elise Briix January 29, 1955, in Herington, KS. She passed away December 25, 2011.
Surviving family members include daughters, Rebecca (John) Doan of Emporia, and Anne (George) Downing of Rose Hill, KS; grandchildren, Rachel (Kevin Margarucci) Dillon, Gregory Guilfoyle, Jane (Brandon) Tittel, and Paige (Nate) Mitchell; great-grandchildren, Wyatt Guilfoyle, Caleb Guilfoyle, and Evan Guilfoyle.
He is preceded in death by his parents, wife, and his aunt, Kathleen Lowther.
Jim graduated from Emporia High School in 1947. He was a 1951 graduate of William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas University. He then served four years in the Navy as an officer on the destroyer, USS Leonard F. Mason DD 852, in the Pacific during the Korean War.
Opportunity came knocking in 1958, when he returned to Emporia to work for the White family at The Emporia Gazette (1959-1969), as advertising manager and then assistant publisher. (His father worked at the Gazette for 40 years, for both William Allen White and then William L. "Bill" White). While at the Gazette he helped to develop Catfish (later Cablevision), the first cable TV company in Emporia. Jim was a banker for many years at what was originally Citizens National Bank (ultimately Bank of America) in Emporia. He was a state representative in the Kansas Legislature for 21 years (1975-1996). He also served on the Emporia Board of Education. Following his retirement, he served 16 years on the Kansas Civil Service Board. Jim was a member of the Emporia Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, American Legion, and the Emporia Presbyterian Church.
Jim was an avid KU fan and enjoyed reading, sailing, running, traveling, and spending time with his friends and family.
Cremation is planned with a graveside service at 11:00 a.m., Friday, June 17, 2022 at the Patio Garden at Memorial Lawn Cemetery, Emporia. Military honors will be conducted by Ball-McColm Post #5 American Legion and Lowry-Funston Post #1980 Veterans of Foreign Wars. A Celebration of Life will follow from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. that day at the Emporia Country Club. Memorial contributions to William Allen White Community Partnership, Inc., or The Emporia Community Foundation can be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, P.O. Box #175, Emporia, Kansas 66801.
*************************
The Emporia Gazette, 06/18/22, Saturday
A gentleman and gentle man: Friends, colleagues reflect on Jim Lowther's life
By Bobbi Mlynar Special to The Gazette
In modern-day lingo, Jim Lowther would be acknowledged as an expert in conflict resolution.
In reality, Lowther was more than that. Whether in private business or in the Kansas House of Representatives, friends and co-workers say he was a gentleman and a gentle man who helped rival groups settle disputes and come to agreement on the best solutions for the majority of people.
Lowther died at the age of 92 on May 11, in Emporia Presbyterian Manor. His graveside service was held on Friday, May 17, in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. A Celebration of Life followed at the Emporia Country Club.
The Emporia native had graduated from the William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas University and served four years of duty in the Pacific as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War before he and his wife, Virginia, returned to Emporia.
He became advertising manager for The Emporia Gazette, where his father, Eugene T. Lowther, had worked for Gazette owners William Allen White and his son, William Lindsay White. The younger Lowther's new job more closely resembled a homecoming rather than new beginning in a strange place.
Lowther later became The Gazette's assistant publisher and also helped the White family develop "Catfish," the first cable television business in Emporia. Catfish later was sold and renamed Cablevision, which served the community for decades.
Former Gazette Managing Editor Patrick Kelley, who had been hired part-time as a photographer in 1964, recalled Lowther fondly.
Kelley described Lowther as a kind, stable man, with a calming presence; the older man much preferred a workplace atmosphere of cooperation and congeniality rather than conflict.
"He was a get-along kind of guy pretty much," Kelley said. "But it worked for him, because he was able to talk to anybody and make sense, which was rare."
That talent served Lowther well in professional and personal relationships throughout his life, whether he was working in journalism or banking or state government.
After leaving The Gazette, Jim worked for many years as marketing director at the then-Citizens National Bank, which after several ownership changes, ended its operations in Emporia as Bank of America.
Lowther consulted regularly with the bank's various departments to learn what needed to be emphasized or what special programs were to be offered, then honed his promotional materials to suit those departments' needs.
"He was the guy that put together all of the ads that we put in newspapers, stuff like that," said Ken Buchele, then the senior vice president in charge of the bank's commercial loan division.
Lowther also took on some responsibility for training and customer service.
In 1975, Lowther was appointed to the 60th District Kansas House of Representative seat that had become vacant when State Rep. Kermit Oakes resigned for health reasons.
"After he got elected to the legislature, during (the sessions) he was not around, but he was still in charge of our marketing," Buchele said.
Buchele, a Democrat, and Lowther, a Republican, sometimes engaged in good-natured political banter, but Buchele nevertheless respected Lowther's moderate approach to governing and reaching agreement through negotiating and compromising.
"He wasn't a wild liberal wanting to give away money but when the conservatives tried to tighten the screws, it tended to bother him quite a bit," Buchele explained.
"He was always trying to bring the two sides together. I think the one thing that was most important about him was that he was always the moderator. … He didn't like conflict at all."
And Lowther approached disagreements in the workplace with the same attitude, sometimes working behind the scenes to settle tensions.
"He was honest, a very kind and gentle man. He really was," Buchele said. "He and Virginia were a class act as far as I'm concerned."
The Gazette's Kelley saw striking similarities between Republican Lowther and his 17th District counterpart in the Kansas Senate, Democrat Jerry Karr of rural Emporia.
The men's terms overlapped for 20 years. Karr served from 1981 through early January 1999, when he resigned; Lowther served from 1976 to 1996. Both took balanced approaches to governing, were skilled at listening, and willing to work on compromises to pass essential legislation for Kansans.
"I was thinking that with Jim Lowther and Jerry Karr in the Legislature, we were the best-represented district in the state, which was strange," Kelley said. "But I remember Jerry Karr used to talk about him fondly, too."
Lowther's work to coax other legislators into finding common ground culminated in the School District Finance and Quality Performance Act of 1992, better known as the school finance formula. It is, perhaps, the best example of the Emporia native's skill in quelling differences and uniting squabbling politicians in a common cause.
"Jim Lowther was a real statesman," said former Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Democrat from Topeka who was both the youngest state representative elected to the Kansas House, and the longest-serving legislator, with 44 years of service.
Hensley was a career educator in grades K-12 and served on the education committees in both the House and the Senate.
Lowther, a former member of the USD 253 Board of Education, was vice chairman of the House education committee.
Although the men belonged to different political parties, both shared a passion for educating children.
Hensley illustrated Lowther's dedication to voting his beliefs by relating an anecdote involving a school-finance committee meeting held some years before the school finance formula was passed.
"We (Democrats) made a motion to put more money into K-12 education, and Jim voted with us," Hensley said. "And it passed by one vote."
Lowther's perceived "defection" did not sit well with Committee Chairman State Rep. Don Crumbaker, a Republican from Brewster.
"It was kind of an awkward moment, but I recall overhearing the conversation because it got a little loud," Hensley said, adding that Crumbaker had questioned why Lowther voted in line with the Democrats instead of his own party.
"And Jim said, 'Well, Don, I voted that way because it was the right thing to do,'" Hensley said. "That's an example of how Jim Lowther operated in the Legislature. He was always looking out for what was in the best interests of his constituents and especially children."
Lowther also made a point of being available to talk with his constituents, whether it involved meeting with groups or individuals or attending orchestrated state events for constituents.
Former Rep. Keith Roe, R-Mankato, who served in the Kansas House from 1981 through 1994, shared an office suite with Lowther at the Capitol and watched his interactions with the people he represented.
"You have mandatory social events," Roe said, noting that some of legislators who attended were inclined to turn and walk in the other direction when they spotted constituents.
Lowther, however, sought them out.
"Jim was a really easy-going guy," Roe said. "He'd push through those things. He was the type of person you'd want to go sit down with. …
"He was very sincere; he was known for that. Hard-working, conscientious."
Lowther was chairman of the House Education Committee when the Legislature passed the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act.
"Jim was one of the architects of that. … That was definitely bipartisan and became a model," said Emporian Don Hill. "And it's still basically the system that we've got today. Obviously it was amended or changed sometimes, but the essence is the same."
Hill's father-in-law, Lloyd Stone, had followed Lowther as 60th District House Representative; Hill later was elected to fill the 60th seat when Stone decided not to run for a fourth two-year term.
Over the preceding years, through mutual connections with Rotary Club and the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce, Lowther had become Hill's unwitting mentor for a political career that was to come.
Hill, as a Chamber member and later as chairman, became involved in the legislative "Eggs & Issues" gatherings co-sponsored by the Chamber and the League of Women Voters. Area legislators gathered to inform constituents about current happenings in the Legislature and to answer questions from the audience.
Hill also helped coordinate the first Leadership Emporia class in 1988, which included experience on-site with senators and representatives at the Capitol in Topeka. Lowther was only too happy to accommodate the visitors.
"It was a significant layer as far as my opportunity to interact with Jim, to see him at work and in action," Hill said, describing Lowther as always accommodating, thoughtful and considerate, as well as good-humored.
"He just was an excellent role model for what sort of became my style, my interest in being bipartisan. He was so well respected, and part of that was his demeanor. He was just so agreeable and obviously kind, trustworthy."
Lowther had worked well not only with his legislative colleagues but also with the five governors — three Republicans and two Democrats — who came and went during his tenure.
"That was definitely Jim," Hill said. "It was people and policy over party and politics. …
"I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times legislative colleagues mentioned their respect and their high regard for both Jim and Lloyd and the big shoes that they left to fill."
After Lowther left the state political arena, he continued his service to the community and the state.
For 16 years, Lowther was a member of the Kansas Civil Service Board, and was a leader in advocating to build a new, expanded courthouse adjacent to the existing one. The building would be paid for through a modest — but temporary — increase in sales tax and dedicated solely to repaying the bond.
Voters approved the issue, and the extra sales tax brought in even more revenue than had been estimated. As a result, the short-term tax was so successful that the county was able to pay off the new courthouse debt three years earlier than planned.
"Jim was civic-minded and for the greater good of the community," Hill said. And he was skilled in helping develop plans in which the majority of residents could find some common ground and benefit, whether at the local or state level.
"We don't have many Jim Lowthers left in the Kansas Legislature. … And that is very unfortunate," Hensley remarked.
**************************
The Emporia Gazette, 07 Feb 1952, Thursday
Ensign Lowther Home
Ens. James E. Lowther, USNR, is spending a few days visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Lowther, 807 Sherwood, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Milne. He was graduated January 25 from the Navy officer candidate school at Newport, R. I., and is on his way to his assignment on the destroyer Leonard F. Mason in the Pacific. Ensign Lowther will be serving on the ship which is under command of Commander William Caspari, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Caspari of Emporia.
May 11, 2022
James Eugene Lowther, 92, of Emporia, KS passed away Wednesday, May 11, 2022, at the Emporia Presbyterian Manor.
Jim was born June 20, 1929, in Emporia, the son of Eugene T. and Isobel J. (Milne) Lowther. He married Virginia Elise Briix January 29, 1955, in Herington, KS. She passed away December 25, 2011.
Surviving family members include daughters, Rebecca (John) Doan of Emporia, and Anne (George) Downing of Rose Hill, KS; grandchildren, Rachel (Kevin Margarucci) Dillon, Gregory Guilfoyle, Jane (Brandon) Tittel, and Paige (Nate) Mitchell; great-grandchildren, Wyatt Guilfoyle, Caleb Guilfoyle, and Evan Guilfoyle.
He is preceded in death by his parents, wife, and his aunt, Kathleen Lowther.
Jim graduated from Emporia High School in 1947. He was a 1951 graduate of William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas University. He then served four years in the Navy as an officer on the destroyer, USS Leonard F. Mason DD 852, in the Pacific during the Korean War.
Opportunity came knocking in 1958, when he returned to Emporia to work for the White family at The Emporia Gazette (1959-1969), as advertising manager and then assistant publisher. (His father worked at the Gazette for 40 years, for both William Allen White and then William L. "Bill" White). While at the Gazette he helped to develop Catfish (later Cablevision), the first cable TV company in Emporia. Jim was a banker for many years at what was originally Citizens National Bank (ultimately Bank of America) in Emporia. He was a state representative in the Kansas Legislature for 21 years (1975-1996). He also served on the Emporia Board of Education. Following his retirement, he served 16 years on the Kansas Civil Service Board. Jim was a member of the Emporia Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, American Legion, and the Emporia Presbyterian Church.
Jim was an avid KU fan and enjoyed reading, sailing, running, traveling, and spending time with his friends and family.
Cremation is planned with a graveside service at 11:00 a.m., Friday, June 17, 2022 at the Patio Garden at Memorial Lawn Cemetery, Emporia. Military honors will be conducted by Ball-McColm Post #5 American Legion and Lowry-Funston Post #1980 Veterans of Foreign Wars. A Celebration of Life will follow from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. that day at the Emporia Country Club. Memorial contributions to William Allen White Community Partnership, Inc., or The Emporia Community Foundation can be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, P.O. Box #175, Emporia, Kansas 66801.
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The Emporia Gazette, 06/18/22, Saturday
A gentleman and gentle man: Friends, colleagues reflect on Jim Lowther's life
By Bobbi Mlynar Special to The Gazette
In modern-day lingo, Jim Lowther would be acknowledged as an expert in conflict resolution.
In reality, Lowther was more than that. Whether in private business or in the Kansas House of Representatives, friends and co-workers say he was a gentleman and a gentle man who helped rival groups settle disputes and come to agreement on the best solutions for the majority of people.
Lowther died at the age of 92 on May 11, in Emporia Presbyterian Manor. His graveside service was held on Friday, May 17, in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. A Celebration of Life followed at the Emporia Country Club.
The Emporia native had graduated from the William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas University and served four years of duty in the Pacific as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War before he and his wife, Virginia, returned to Emporia.
He became advertising manager for The Emporia Gazette, where his father, Eugene T. Lowther, had worked for Gazette owners William Allen White and his son, William Lindsay White. The younger Lowther's new job more closely resembled a homecoming rather than new beginning in a strange place.
Lowther later became The Gazette's assistant publisher and also helped the White family develop "Catfish," the first cable television business in Emporia. Catfish later was sold and renamed Cablevision, which served the community for decades.
Former Gazette Managing Editor Patrick Kelley, who had been hired part-time as a photographer in 1964, recalled Lowther fondly.
Kelley described Lowther as a kind, stable man, with a calming presence; the older man much preferred a workplace atmosphere of cooperation and congeniality rather than conflict.
"He was a get-along kind of guy pretty much," Kelley said. "But it worked for him, because he was able to talk to anybody and make sense, which was rare."
That talent served Lowther well in professional and personal relationships throughout his life, whether he was working in journalism or banking or state government.
After leaving The Gazette, Jim worked for many years as marketing director at the then-Citizens National Bank, which after several ownership changes, ended its operations in Emporia as Bank of America.
Lowther consulted regularly with the bank's various departments to learn what needed to be emphasized or what special programs were to be offered, then honed his promotional materials to suit those departments' needs.
"He was the guy that put together all of the ads that we put in newspapers, stuff like that," said Ken Buchele, then the senior vice president in charge of the bank's commercial loan division.
Lowther also took on some responsibility for training and customer service.
In 1975, Lowther was appointed to the 60th District Kansas House of Representative seat that had become vacant when State Rep. Kermit Oakes resigned for health reasons.
"After he got elected to the legislature, during (the sessions) he was not around, but he was still in charge of our marketing," Buchele said.
Buchele, a Democrat, and Lowther, a Republican, sometimes engaged in good-natured political banter, but Buchele nevertheless respected Lowther's moderate approach to governing and reaching agreement through negotiating and compromising.
"He wasn't a wild liberal wanting to give away money but when the conservatives tried to tighten the screws, it tended to bother him quite a bit," Buchele explained.
"He was always trying to bring the two sides together. I think the one thing that was most important about him was that he was always the moderator. … He didn't like conflict at all."
And Lowther approached disagreements in the workplace with the same attitude, sometimes working behind the scenes to settle tensions.
"He was honest, a very kind and gentle man. He really was," Buchele said. "He and Virginia were a class act as far as I'm concerned."
The Gazette's Kelley saw striking similarities between Republican Lowther and his 17th District counterpart in the Kansas Senate, Democrat Jerry Karr of rural Emporia.
The men's terms overlapped for 20 years. Karr served from 1981 through early January 1999, when he resigned; Lowther served from 1976 to 1996. Both took balanced approaches to governing, were skilled at listening, and willing to work on compromises to pass essential legislation for Kansans.
"I was thinking that with Jim Lowther and Jerry Karr in the Legislature, we were the best-represented district in the state, which was strange," Kelley said. "But I remember Jerry Karr used to talk about him fondly, too."
Lowther's work to coax other legislators into finding common ground culminated in the School District Finance and Quality Performance Act of 1992, better known as the school finance formula. It is, perhaps, the best example of the Emporia native's skill in quelling differences and uniting squabbling politicians in a common cause.
"Jim Lowther was a real statesman," said former Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Democrat from Topeka who was both the youngest state representative elected to the Kansas House, and the longest-serving legislator, with 44 years of service.
Hensley was a career educator in grades K-12 and served on the education committees in both the House and the Senate.
Lowther, a former member of the USD 253 Board of Education, was vice chairman of the House education committee.
Although the men belonged to different political parties, both shared a passion for educating children.
Hensley illustrated Lowther's dedication to voting his beliefs by relating an anecdote involving a school-finance committee meeting held some years before the school finance formula was passed.
"We (Democrats) made a motion to put more money into K-12 education, and Jim voted with us," Hensley said. "And it passed by one vote."
Lowther's perceived "defection" did not sit well with Committee Chairman State Rep. Don Crumbaker, a Republican from Brewster.
"It was kind of an awkward moment, but I recall overhearing the conversation because it got a little loud," Hensley said, adding that Crumbaker had questioned why Lowther voted in line with the Democrats instead of his own party.
"And Jim said, 'Well, Don, I voted that way because it was the right thing to do,'" Hensley said. "That's an example of how Jim Lowther operated in the Legislature. He was always looking out for what was in the best interests of his constituents and especially children."
Lowther also made a point of being available to talk with his constituents, whether it involved meeting with groups or individuals or attending orchestrated state events for constituents.
Former Rep. Keith Roe, R-Mankato, who served in the Kansas House from 1981 through 1994, shared an office suite with Lowther at the Capitol and watched his interactions with the people he represented.
"You have mandatory social events," Roe said, noting that some of legislators who attended were inclined to turn and walk in the other direction when they spotted constituents.
Lowther, however, sought them out.
"Jim was a really easy-going guy," Roe said. "He'd push through those things. He was the type of person you'd want to go sit down with. …
"He was very sincere; he was known for that. Hard-working, conscientious."
Lowther was chairman of the House Education Committee when the Legislature passed the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act.
"Jim was one of the architects of that. … That was definitely bipartisan and became a model," said Emporian Don Hill. "And it's still basically the system that we've got today. Obviously it was amended or changed sometimes, but the essence is the same."
Hill's father-in-law, Lloyd Stone, had followed Lowther as 60th District House Representative; Hill later was elected to fill the 60th seat when Stone decided not to run for a fourth two-year term.
Over the preceding years, through mutual connections with Rotary Club and the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce, Lowther had become Hill's unwitting mentor for a political career that was to come.
Hill, as a Chamber member and later as chairman, became involved in the legislative "Eggs & Issues" gatherings co-sponsored by the Chamber and the League of Women Voters. Area legislators gathered to inform constituents about current happenings in the Legislature and to answer questions from the audience.
Hill also helped coordinate the first Leadership Emporia class in 1988, which included experience on-site with senators and representatives at the Capitol in Topeka. Lowther was only too happy to accommodate the visitors.
"It was a significant layer as far as my opportunity to interact with Jim, to see him at work and in action," Hill said, describing Lowther as always accommodating, thoughtful and considerate, as well as good-humored.
"He just was an excellent role model for what sort of became my style, my interest in being bipartisan. He was so well respected, and part of that was his demeanor. He was just so agreeable and obviously kind, trustworthy."
Lowther had worked well not only with his legislative colleagues but also with the five governors — three Republicans and two Democrats — who came and went during his tenure.
"That was definitely Jim," Hill said. "It was people and policy over party and politics. …
"I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times legislative colleagues mentioned their respect and their high regard for both Jim and Lloyd and the big shoes that they left to fill."
After Lowther left the state political arena, he continued his service to the community and the state.
For 16 years, Lowther was a member of the Kansas Civil Service Board, and was a leader in advocating to build a new, expanded courthouse adjacent to the existing one. The building would be paid for through a modest — but temporary — increase in sales tax and dedicated solely to repaying the bond.
Voters approved the issue, and the extra sales tax brought in even more revenue than had been estimated. As a result, the short-term tax was so successful that the county was able to pay off the new courthouse debt three years earlier than planned.
"Jim was civic-minded and for the greater good of the community," Hill said. And he was skilled in helping develop plans in which the majority of residents could find some common ground and benefit, whether at the local or state level.
"We don't have many Jim Lowthers left in the Kansas Legislature. … And that is very unfortunate," Hensley remarked.
**************************
The Emporia Gazette, 07 Feb 1952, Thursday
Ensign Lowther Home
Ens. James E. Lowther, USNR, is spending a few days visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Lowther, 807 Sherwood, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Milne. He was graduated January 25 from the Navy officer candidate school at Newport, R. I., and is on his way to his assignment on the destroyer Leonard F. Mason in the Pacific. Ensign Lowther will be serving on the ship which is under command of Commander William Caspari, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Caspari of Emporia.
