Monday, December 13, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Celesta Lowe, former writer for R-J, dies at 87

Longtime Nevadan's magazine articles became basis for 'Death Valley Days' episodes

Celesta Lowe Worked at UNLV's library

Celesta Lowe, a former Review-Journal book reviewer and the first paid employee at the institution that would eventually become UNLV, died Thursday in Henderson. She was 87.

The longtime Nevadan wrote 10 magazine articles in the 1940s that became the basis for episodes of "Death Valley Days" on radio and later on the television show that was narrated by Ronald Reagan, said Lowe's son, Dale Lowe.

"She more or less portrayed people from the desert as very positive, heroic characters," Dale Lowe said of his mother's many writings. "She wanted to show these were very resourceful people and how they struggled against whatever obstacles they had. I mean, putting food on the table was difficult. But they were people who could overcome."

Celesta Lowe told stories of colorful Western characters she had known, such as Seldom Seen Slim and Death Valley Scotty, her son said.

In one account, she wrote of how Death Valley Scotty presided over her Las Vegas marriage in 1935, then rushed to his duties as grand marshal of a parade on Fremont Street. Scotty was so intoxicated at the time, Lowe once wrote, that two men supervised him the entire route to ensure he did not fall off his horse.

As a child in Tecopa, Calif., Lowe witnessed a shootout that left two men dead, her son said.

Lowe's ancestors arrived in Utah with Brigham Young, her son said, and her father's family arrived in California's Sacramento Valley two years before the California Gold Rush.

During her high school years, Lowe and her family lived in the small Southern Nevada town of St. Thomas until they were forced to move when Lake Mead filled up. Since there was no high school near her home in Nevada, Lowe's father rented a home in El Monte, Calif., so she and other relatives could attend school there, her son said.

In 1955, Lowe took home economics classes at Nevada Southern University, which became the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, her son said. Celesta Lowe also worked at UNLV's library.

Lowe's Review-Journal column, "Echoes from the Archives," ran from 1967 until at least 1974, records show.

Lowe was mother to four children. One of those is Janet Lowe, who has written 18 books, including works on Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Bunkers Mortuary, 925 Las Vegas Blvd. North.