Dr. Robert Lowry's gift honors the professors and physicians that inspired him, and pays it forward to future students.
Growing up, Robert Lowry and his family received medical care from Donald J. Evans, D.O., a 1937 graduate of Des Moines Still College, now Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences. Years later, the quality of that care inspired Dr. Lowry to pursue his own osteopathic medical degree at DMU. His mentors in medical school included Byron Laycock, D.O., a legendary professor of osteopathic manual medicine.
Dr. Lowry, who graduated in 1961, recently demonstrated his gratitude toward Dr. Evans and the University by using an insurance policy to establish the Robert W. Lowry D.O. and Verna L. Lowry CRNA Endowed Scholarship at DMU.
"I was so impressed by Dr. Evans and Dr. Laycock. I became very eager to follow their osteopathic philosophies," he says. "I felt like I had an excellent education and wanted to honor that."
His scholarship also honors service to one's country by requiring its recipients to serve in the military for four years.
Dr. Lowry had joined the U.S. Navy at age 17 and trained at its Hospital Corps School at the Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, Maryland. He eventually deployed with the Marine Corps to Korea during the Korean War, where he suffered a serious injury that had a profound impact on him beyond its physical implications.
Dr. Byron Laycock, Department Chairman
"I had a feeling that I probably should not have survived. When I came back, I told my wife I wanted to go to medical school," he says. "She said she would help me any way she could. She ended up paying most of my tuition for medical school." His application to DMU was supported by a letter of recommendation from Dr. Evans.
Now retired, Dr. Lowry still has a copy of the osteopathic manual medicine textbook authored by his DMU mentor, Dr. Laycock.
"He was a very big part of my education," he says. "I'm glad I was in the position to do something for the University in recognition of my indebtedness to the school."
There are many ways you can join Dr. Lowry in supporting DMU and future DO's. Contact Stephanie Greiner, M.S. at stephanie.greiner@dmu.edu or (515) 271-1386 to learn more.