Rocking Zeppelin concert benefits David Lowry’s kids
Published 12:08 am Saturday, October 22, 2016
- The Lowry children include, from left, Hannah, 16; Duncan, 13; Aidan, 9; Hunter, 11; Trey, 15; and Kaitlyn, 19. The picture was taken at Fort Walton Beach, Fla., in July.
LAPLACE — When David Lowry died from cancer complications in June of 2013, he left a lasting legacy.
Sports fans throughout the New Orleans and River Region still remember his distinctive voice describing baseball and football action for the St. Charles Catholic Comets, Nicholls State Colonels, UNO Privateers and Tulane Green Wave.
David Lowry
Many Tulane players remember him helping them prepare for practices and games as the Green Wave’s equipment manager for seven years.
A generation of Lady Comets softball players remember him as their teacher and coach.
Lowry left a stadium full of friends to mourn his passing. He also left a wife and six children.
Pat Dufrene and Don Fernandez, who were lifelong friends of Lowry, have done what they can to keep their friend’s memory alive and frequently come together to help Lowry’s family get through the tough times.
“David used to call them his brothers from another mother,” said Tricia Lowry, David’s widow. “I call them my other husbands.”
Tricia Lowry — who raises six children ranging in ages between 9 and 19 by herself following the death of her husband, David, pictured inset — says her family has developed a routine that involves school, homework and plenty of individual activities. ‘I usually make a loop around LaPlace two or three times a day,’ she joked. Tricia is a food science teacher at St. Charles Catholic, where she is pictured. A concert benefiting an education fund for the children is next week.
Shortly before Lowry’s death, Dufrene and Fernandez pledged to their friend they would help the family. They formed Team Lowry, which held a 2013 fundraiser that helped build the family a house to replace the one flooded by Hurricane Isaac.
One of the promises they made was to someday hold a rock and roll concert in David’s memory.
That promise will be fulfilled Oct. 29 when Team Lowry hosts a benefit concert featuring Zoso, the Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience, at St. John Theatre in Reserve.
The band, formed in 1995, is the longest touring Led Zeppelin tribute band.
All proceeds will go into an education fund to be established for Lowry’s children, Kaitlyn (19), Hannah (16), Trey (15), Duncan (13), Hunter (11) and Aidan (9). Kaitlyn is a student at LSU on a TOPS scholarship.
Tricia, who also is a longtime teacher and coach at St. Charles Catholic, said music was a huge part of her late husband’s life.
“If you look at our list of music, it ranges from one extreme to the other and everything in between,” Tricia said. “He would play music in the kitchen and sing and dance with the kids, so they know every genre of music.”
Dufrene said Lowry especially enjoyed local favorite Zebra, but that band wasn’t available for the event.
“Then we heard about this band Zoso,” Dufrene said. “They’re very professional, a very good group. This is going to be a really good show. We just hope to bring out people who knew David for some music and some fun as a tribute to him.”
Tricia Lowry said she is often greeted by people — strangers — who knew David or whose path crossed his.
“Everyone knew his voice,” she said.
She has had no trouble keeping his memory alive for her children.
“He is very much a part of their lives even though he’s not here,” Tricia said. “He’s very much a part of the conversation. They know he’s here watching them.”
Tricia said, with friends’ help, she also has adjusted to life on her own, a job, occasional coaching duties and six children.
“They’re in a routine,” she said. “As long as they’re in a routine it doesn’t much matter. They’re all involved in their own activities. When we leave school we go home, we do homework, then everybody goes wherever they’ve got to go. I usually make a loop around LaPlace two or three times a day.”
Tickets to the concert are $30 and may be purchased at Allied Express, 101 Carrollwood Drive in LaPlace or at stjohntheatre.org.
Various sponsorships also are available, which include V.I.P. tickets to the event. Checks should be sent to Lowry Family Fund c/o United Community Bank, 590 Belle Terre Blvd., LaPlace, 70068. Credit card payments may be made at stjohntheatre.org.
