Robert Michael Lowry | Passages

Robert Michael Lowry, 87, passed away peacefully on February 7, 2026, at home on San Juan Island in the care of devoted friends, family, and Hospice of the Northwest. Bob grew up in Lincoln City on the Oregon coast, where he developed a love of the sea. When he was 18, he enlisted in the Navy and served on the USS Walker (DDE-517) as a machinist. He often referred to his four years in the Navy as one of the best and most educational periods of his life. During the following two decades, Bob worked as an auto mechanic in Lincoln City and eventually built his own house up Bear Creek near Rose Lodge. Among his favorite pastimes was riding his motorcycle on old logging roads and sailing his Hobie Cat, with which he won several races and achieved the distinction of being “the fastest on the Oregon coast.”

In 1978, Bob spent a memorable summer fishing around Kodiak Island, Alaska. Returning from Alaska and stopping in Friday Harbor, he found the opportunity to buy a Navy whale boat which he rebuilt as a live-aboard. In due course, Bob sold

his Oregon house and began a 47-year island sojourn on San Juan Island aboard the boats he called home. Bob’s second boat was a 36’ 1945 Navy hull that he painstakingly restored and to which he added a cabin that was evidence of his artistic eye and craftsmanship. Bob’s talent as a craftsman also became a source of livelihood over the years during which he helped to construct several homes on San Juan Island.

Although Bob sometimes came across as a curmudgeon, those who had the privilege of knowing him well valued his honesty, his generous and loyal nature, and his genuine concern for the welfare of others. Bob is deeply loved and greatly missed by friends and family alike. He is survived by his daughters: Gail Lowry Murphy of Vashon, WA; Jo Murphy of Kodiak, AK; and Sandy Pherson of Wasilla, AK, as well as by nine grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. He also leaves his island “family”: Karen and Gerard Woldtvedt, along with their son David and daughter Brynn, who have known Bob since infancy and to whom he has been like an uncle.

To view Bob’s online memorial and share memories, please visit evanschapel.com/obituaries/bob-lowry.