Veteran Lincoln golfer Lowe dies at 74

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

Jim Lowe, one of the top amateur golfers in Lincoln, died Monday after a long battle with lung cancer.

Lowe, 74, won the Lincoln city senior men’s title nine times, the Lincoln city title twice and the Nebraska state senior crown once.

He was one of the charter members of the Lincoln Municipal Golf Association, an organization that has  promoted amateur golf in the city since 1963.

“He could still shoot his age, just like he could since he was 65 or so,” said Lowe’s son, Dan. “He didn’t start playing golf until he was 29, but he was such a good athlete, it didn’t take long for him to catch on with the game.”

Lowe was a high school standout in basketball and football at Mahaska, Kan., and attended the University of Nebraska. He soon joined the Air Force and eventually started a career as a air traffic controller.

“He got a great job when they had to train all new air traffic controllers, where he taught for six months in the winter then got six months to play golf here in Lincoln,” Dan Lowe said.

Lowe became the oldest qualifier for the U.S. Senior Amateur when, at the age of 70, he qualified for the national tournament in 2003.

Lowe worked as a professional at Holmes Golf Course and later as an assistant there. He also was a Realtor.

“Jim wasn’t that good when he started, but he was determined to become a good player and he did,” said Chuck Domant, a longtime friend and playing companion of Lowe’s. “He had that intensity in competition, and I should know, because I was runner-up to him five times in the city senior tournament.”

Lowe is survived by wife Delores, son Dan, and daughters Karen Rowe, Kathy Kitchen and Nancy Niemeyer. Services are pending.