‘Wonderful citizen of Nevada’ dies

Jim Lowman said his mother's vibrance and zeal that overflowed into her community endeavors began at home.

"She was the guiding force of our family," Lowman said of his mom, Mary Lowman, who died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. She was 87.

"She was a beautiful mother and wonderful citizen of Nevada. It's the end of an era with her passing."

Mary Lowman was an active member of the community since she moved to Las Vegas with her husband, Zel, in 1954.

Throughout the decades she served in various capacities including being ordained as an elder of the Presbyterian Church in the 1960s, breaking a gender barrier at the time. She served on the regional and national governing boards for the Girl Scouts in the 1970s and as chairperson of the Greater Las Vegas Board of Realtors in the 1980s.

She and her husband, who worked as an executive at Nevada Power and served in the Nevada Legislature for a decade, had an elementary school in the northeast valley named for them.

Mary Lowman earned a bachelor's degree from Western State College in Gunnison, Colo. She worked as a teacher and real estate agent.

Jim Lowman said his mother pushed education and character-building initiatives for young people.

"She was brilliant yet very down to earth," he said. "She had great empathy for people."

Services will be private.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.