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Dr. John Lowbridge, 82, of Madisonville, Kentucky died on Saturday, September 14, 2024 at his home. Born on November 5, 1941 in Stafford, England, he was the son of the late Annie and Jabez Lowbridge. He was preceded in death by his wife of 31 years, Janice Rose Lowbridge, and his younger sister, Marjorie Calis. He is survived by his treasured daughters and granddaughters, Hilary Anne Lowbridge, Rhianwen Elizabeth Lowbridge, Madeline Jane Lowbridge, and Lillian Rose Lowbridge of Madisonville, Kentucky; his beloved brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Alexander and Nancy Jamieson of Cleveland Heights, Ohio; his elder sister, Liz Baker of Stafford, England, a gaggle of nieces and nephews he adored: Pamela Webster, Alexander Jamieson, and Heather Clarke of Cleveland, Ohio; Jonathan Calis and Francis Calis of Stafford, England; David Baker, Joanna Harrison, Mick Baker, and Andrew Baker of Stafford, England; Elizabeth Gunby of Kirkcudbright, Scotland, Cristina Rose of Memphis, Tennessee; Jonathan Rose of Athens, Ohio; David Rose of Knoxville, Tennessee; and his honorary grandchildren, Griffin Gast of Mühlhausen, Germany, and Lucy Gast of Madisonville, Kentucky.

Dr. Lowbridge completed his Ph.D in organic chemistry at the Polytechnic Institute of the South Bank in London in 1971, and received post-doctoral research positions at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. His career in scientific research spanned over three decades; he published numerous articles and abstracts and holds a patent for herbicidal and plant growth regulant. He worked at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Mt. Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine in New York, Diamond Shamrock in Solon, Ohio and Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio. He was a Senior Research Associate at The Ohio State University in the Biopolymer facility where he performed peptide synthesis, protein sequencing, and DNA sequencing. While at OSU, Dr. Lowbridge accepted an adjunct professor position at Columbus State Community College, an unexpected opportunity that inspired the next two decades of his career. He discovered a passion and undeniable talent for teaching undergraduate students, and a particular respect for community colleges. For the next 22 years, Dr. Lowbridge taught chemistry at Madisonville Community College in Madisonville, Kentucky, serving as the Chair of the College's division of natural sciences for nine years. In May of 2021 he was named a Faculty Emeritus of Chemistry, retiring just shy of his 80th birthday.

Our dear ol' dad was an exceptional writer, an avid reader, and a history buff; he loved airplanes, rock and roll music, road trips, spy novels, the periodic table, ice-cream, and good conversation. He taught us to "always look on the bright side of life" and often reminded us "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need." He was the most brilliant, generous, hilarious, empathetic, loyal, and kind person, and also the most down to earth. He believed in serendipity, never attributing his personal or professional accomplishments to anything other than being immensely lucky.

He embodied everything that is good about humanity, and we are so privileged and lucky to be his daughters. We miss him so very much

Donations for a Dr. John Lowbridge Memorial on the Madisonville Community College campus may be made payable to the Madisonville College Foundation and sent in care of MCC Advancement Office, 2000 College Drive, Madisonville, KY 42431.

Dr. John Lowbridge Campus Memorial

Honor Dr. Lowbridge with a gift to setup a memorial on MCC's Campus.