May 12, 1917 - Jan. 28, 2015, 97 years old
Willa May was born to Beryl and Lorenzo Lowary on May 19, 1917, at the family home in Gifford, and her life on Earth ended Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, at Clearwater Health and Rehab in Orofino.
Willa May and her family moved to Clarkston when she was very young, and she received her primary education there. She attended one year at Lewis-Clark Normal School after she graduated from Clarkston High School. She lived with a couple of different families and assisted with childcare of their children while she attended school. Willa May moved to California with one of the families she worked for. She worked for Safeway in Oakland, Calif., until she enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) from 1944-46 as a storekeeper, second class. Through Willa May's determination, the women were permitted to wear dungarees during their work hours at the end of her time in the Navy. Upon her discharge, she signed up to go to Occupied Japan and work as a civilian in dispensing goods for the U.S. military that were stationed there after the war.
Upon her return to California, she graduated from Sacramento State College and began working as a seed analyst for the state of California Agriculture Department in Sacramento. She worked and lived there until her retirement, when she moved to a retirement community in Applegate, Calif.
During these years, Aunt Willie enjoyed numerous trips around the world with her bird-watching friends. Some of her favorite places were Africa, Costa Rica, Greece, Honduras, Australia, New Zealand and the Amazon.
In 2010, Ms. Lowary moved back to Idaho to be near her family. She enjoyed many years and made many friends at Brookside Landing and then Clearwater Health and Rehab her final year.
Willa May enjoyed photography, bird watching and traveling.
She is survived by her nephew, Roy Lowary of Orofino and his family; a niece, Shirley (Lowary) Leendertsen of Palouse and her family; and a nephew, Gary McGlothen of Pahrump, Nev., and his family.
Preceding her in death were her mother and father, Beryl and Lorenzo Lowary; her brothers, Lowell and Rowe; her sister, Grace (Lowary) Dean; her sister-in-law, Mildred; and her niece, Ruth (Lowary) McGlothen.
Graveside military services will be held in March at Lookout Cemetery in Gifford.
