Words of Remembrance for Brother Mark Lowery, FSC
Given by Brother Michael Andrejko, FSC
Mass of Christian Burial
Saint Rosalia Church
Pittsburgh, PA
May 27, 2021
Suffice it to say that there are so many people in the immediate and extended Lowery families that to name all of you would take up the whole reflection time for Mark and he would be happy with that. He loved each and every one of you so very much. On behalf of the Christian Brothers, our very deepest and sincere sympathies as you all mourn the death of your beloved uncle and our beloved Brother, Mark.
Mark Lowery was a man for others. His focus was on people and not on things. He always thought of others first and himself second. It should not come as a surprise then that Mark joined the Christian Brothers right out of Central Catholic High School when he was of the ripe young age of eighteen. Hailing from Central and from Greenfield, yes from this very parish, Mark entered the novitiate for the Christian Brothers in Ammendale, MD September 7, 1955.
Bro. Mark earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from La Salle University in Philadelphia, and quickly dived into teaching and ministering as a Christian Brother. Degrees were simply a means to an end for Mark . . . being Brother by ministering to young people. Shortly after his beginning years, Mark moved into administration at West Philadelphia Catholic Boys High School as Vice Principal and then on to Bishop Walsh in Cumberland, Maryland as Principal. Then back to his beloved Central Catholic for forty years where he served as teacher and alumni director, finishing his years of active ministry working with men who were in trouble with the law, as well as students at Central who had challenges with drugs and alcohol. The common string here again is that it was always about other people. That is what gave Bro. Mark joy, contentment, and peace. It gave him the energy to be Brother for the past sixty-five years.
Many of us here today knew the Mark that was always happy to see us. Words that come to mind when thinking about Mark: loving, compassionate, listener, generous with time and energy to a fault, forgiving, and selfless. The most important trait that our Brother Mark left us was his humanness. It was because of his humanness that Mark was able to help and touch so many people in his life. It was because of his humanness that he stumbled and fell. Most importantly he modeled picking oneself up and starting all over again, with aplomb, dignity, a firm belief in God and character. Indeed, he lived the serenity prayer each day: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” A mutual friend once described Mark to me as “a real twelve stepper.” Thank you, Mark for showing us how to treat, forgive, support and love each other. Thank you, Mark, for showing us that the path to the holy and spiritual is by living out our humanness. Thank you, Mark for being an older Brother to each one of us especially in our time of need.
What an appropriate Gospel passage that was read earlier from the Gospel of St. John – Do you love me? Mark never needed to say it, his actions spoke that he loved deeply.
Mark loved community. That was always evident in the time, energy, and effort he put into living with the Brothers and with his family. Mark was energized just being with people and was always ready for a party! How many people in this Church today will ever forget Uncle Mark’s peperoni bread, hard tack candy at Christmas, banana nut bread, Irish soda bread, brownies, or his spaghetti and meatball dinners? His day was always made just bringing people together and seeing them happy!
My image of Mark is that of Jesus holding a lamb. Mark was always holding one us in his arms many times without us even noticing him. Thank you Mark for following the loving, compassionate master so many years of your life. Now He holds you in a loving embrace . . .forever!
St. John Baptist De La Salle . . . pray for us!
Brother Mark’s Funeral Program
Please Pray for the Repose of the Soul of Brother Mark Lowery, FSC
1937 – 2021
Born Mark Paul Lowery in Pittsburgh PA on 16 April 1937
Entered the Ammendale MD Novitiate on 15 June 1955
Received the Religious Habit and Name Edwin Mark on 7 September 1955
Pronounced Perpetual Vows in Ammendale MD in 1962
Died at De La Salle Hall in Lincroft NJ on 21 May 2021
FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS
Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Viewing – 4.00pm to 7.00pm
Central Catholic High School
McGonigle Theater
4720 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh PA 15213
Thursday, 27 May 2021
Mass of Christian Burial – 10.00am
Saint Rosalia Church
411 Greenfield Avenue
Pittsburgh PA 15207
Friday, 28 May 2021
Private Interment – 1.30pm
De La Salle Cemetery
6001 Ammendale Road
Beltsville MD 20705
Brother Mark died peacefully in his sleep early Friday afternoon after a brief respite in hospice care.
The District of Eastern North America remembers Brother Mark with memorial liturgies according to the tradition of the Institute. Through their prayers, communities and individuals entrust Brother Mark to God’s loving care.
May he rest in peace.
Pittsburgh Post- Gazette Death Notice
ASSIGNMENTS
1956–1960
Elkins Park PA
La Salle College (scholasticate)
1960–1972
Philadelphia PA
West Catholic High School for Boys
1972–1981
Cumberland MD
Bishop Walsh High School
1981–2001
Pittsburgh PA
Central Catholic High School
2001–2014
Pittsburgh PA
Michael’s Place (Outreach Director)
2014–2020
Pittsburgh PA
Central Catholic High School
2020–2021
Pittsburgh PA
Central Catholic High School (resident)
2021–2021
Lincroft NJ
De La Salle Hall (resident)
Brother Mark was a shining presence in a certain community. His honesty and kindness to all was ever present and my respect for this man is immense. Rest In Peace, Brother Mark. You will surely be missed, as will your killer brownies! I’m glad to have known you.
May my dear friend Br. Mark rests in peace.
I have very good memories of Br. Mark.
He was the one who in 2014 made the trip to Lincroft with me. With him, I went some Saturdays to the St. Marks Church on a hill (I think it was on Southside). With him, I also entered the prison to see his work with people in trouble, and his mission with the kids from our school in Pittsburgh. I thank God to have met Br. Mark. Dear Brother and friend Mark, rest in peace.
With Brother Mark the world just seemed like a better, safer, more loving place. Mark was a calming, wise presence, who I always looked to for his quiet leadership based on gratitude, selfless service, and genuine humility. May he rest in peace, and may the love he brought to the world continue to spread on and on through the many lives he touched.
A joy to read the tributes above. In admiration and delight at the amazing gift of grace leads by such wandering ways to reveal such extraordinary Wisdom and love in the midst of our wonderfully mysterious humanness. To read of Mark going into the prisons is special. But most all that he was ministering to the students at Central. It was an unrecognized need back at CCHS 1955 when I graduated with Mark. How pleased LaSalle is that this “new” kind of ministry is being made available in Brothers’ schools today.
Even though Mark’s life and mine lived and ministered geographically far apart, I always knew from the times we did connect through the years, we were never truly far apart. That spirit that lived at Central and in the cherished dedication the Brothers carries through all the wandering streets of our Graced Walk. May Bro. Mark Rest In Peace and May Jesus live always in our hearts
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