Obituary for Lowell Betow

Lowell H. Betow, a resident of Ponca City since 1957, died peacefully on December 11, 2014, at the age of 92.

Lowell was born to Herman F. and Edith Amanda (Abraham) Betow, the second of five children, at their home in Shakopee, Minnesota, on July 26, 1922.

He started school in Hastings, Minnesota, where he completed the first three grades. He began school in the fourth grade at Carney, Oklahoma, and finished the ninth grade there. The family moved to Durango, Colorado in 1936. He graduated from Durango High School in 1940. He attended Fort Lewis College at Hesperus, Colorado (the school is now located at Durango), for two years, and then attended and graduated in 1944 from Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Colorado State University) at Ft. Collins, Colorado with a B.S. degree in Chemistry. While there, he played on the varsity basketball team.

Lowell was hired as a chemist in the control laboratories division of Conoco’s Ponca City Refinery in 1944. After a year in Ponca City, he was transferred to Conoco’s Artesia Refinery in Artesia, New Mexico, as resident chemist. He met Wanda Fay Lunsford at Artesia in 1947, and they were married at Carlsbad, New Mexico, on October 8, 1948.

In early 1949, Lowell was appointed resident chemist at Conoco’s Lake Charles Refinery at Westlake, Louisiana, and he and Wanda transferred there. Three children were born to Lowell and Wanda at Lake Charles: Beverly, Gary and Joel.

In 1956, Lowell was appointed as an administrative assistant at Conoco’s main office at Houston, Texas. The family moved there and remained one year before Lowell was transferred to the Ponca City Refinery as an operating supervisor. Their son Paul was born at Ponca City.

Lowell was appointed Director of Personnel Relations for the Ponca City Refinery in 1967 and continued in that position until his retirement in 1982. During his tenure, he took great care to protect the safety and rights of the workers at the refinery. Upon retirement in 1982, he and Wanda enjoyed completing their small vacation cabin in Southern Colorado and spending summers there.

He was a devoted husband and father, never asking for anything more than for the family to be together and to care for each other. He loved nature, the rivers and the mountains, and he was actively involved in efforts to save the Illinois River during the 1960’s.

Throughout his lifetime, he dedicated himself to issues of social justice and open government. During his retirement years, he and Wanda were volunteers for Meals on Wheels and the Friendship Feast at First Christian Church. He was actively involved in Oklahoma’s Chapter of Common Cause and served on the boards of Helpline, Peachtree Landing and the Ponca City Housing Authority. Until very recently, he also served as a tutor in the Study Buddies elementary tutoring program at First Christian Church. God had graced him with a kind and gentle soul.

He is survived by his four children (Beverly Beaty and her husband Ed, Gary and his wife Kathy, Joel and Paul), grandchildren Brandi Buettner and her husband Ray, Geoff Beaty, and Faith Betow, and great-grandchildren Grant, Gavin and Isabella Buettner and Zach Beaty. He is also survived by his sister Helen. He was preceded in death by his wife Wanda after a marriage of almost 58 years, his sisters Ardis and Zona, his brother Lloyd, and his beloved grandson Bart Betow.

The funeral service is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 16, at First Christian Church, 5th & Cleveland, followed by a graveside service and interment at Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Lowell and Wanda Betow Memorial Fund for Justice and Peace at First Christian Church or to the church or charity of one’s choice.

Source: Trout Funeral Home