Dr. Lowry Price Ware, 92, died at Wesley Commons (Greenwood) on February 8, 2021. Born September 17, 1928, he was the 3rd child of five born to the late Charlie B. Ware and the late Ruby Price Ware. Surviving is a brother, Gene R. (Shirley) Ware of Due West. Also surviving are nine nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by two brothers; Charlie B. Ware, Jr, Allen E. Ware and a sister, Mabel Ware Baggett. He was a life-long resident of Due West.
He was a life-long member of the Due West ARP Church where he taught Sunday School for decades, served as a Deacon, served as an Elder for 29 years, and was Clerk of Session for a number of terms. He loyally supported many congregational activities for over five decades.
Lowry was a precocious child and an omnivorous reader with a remarkable memory for everything he read. He attended the public schools of Due West, graduated from Due West High School and entered Erskine College. He majored in history, graduated in 1949 and entered the graduate school of history at the University of South Carolina. He earned MA and PhD degrees submitting a dissertation on William E. Dodd’s academic career (he was a scholar and US diplomat). Lowry was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the most prestigious academic distinction in the United States and for many years an officer in the Phi Beta Kappa regional society.
Lowry returned to Erskine as a member of the history department in 1954 and served as a professor until his retirement in 1987. He was a popular teacher, especially for those students destined for graduate academic degrees, medical schools and law schools. He continued to write and edit books well into his eighties. He co-authored The Second Century: A History of the Associated Reformed Presbyterians, 1882-1982, and wrote Old Abbeville: Scenes of the Past of a town Where Old Time Things are not Forgotten, A Place Called Due West: The Home of Erskine College, Chapters in the History of Abbeville County, the “Banner County” of South Carolina, and The Daniel Legacy: The Transforming Power of Philanthropy. Most of the thirty books he produced are edited works of diaries, census records and a myriad of other topics providing historians and genealogists with incomparable resources.
A special thank you to Jim Gettys, Jenny Kelly, and Lynn Veach for their ongoing efforts to visit Lowry several times each week.
A memorial service will be held Friday Feb. 12, 2021 at 3:00 PM in the Due West ARP Church with the Revs. Calvin Draffin and Scott Moore officiating.
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic mask are required and social distancing will be observed.
There will be a private family burial. The Ware family will receive friends following the service on Friday in the front of the church sanctuary.
Memorials in memory of Lowry may be made to Due West ARP Church, PO Box 137, Due West, SC 29639 or to Hospice of the Piedmont, 408 West Alexander Ave. Greenwood, SC 29646.
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