Heart Thoughts: Rev. LeRoy Lowell

Rev. LeRoy Lowell

My heart is broken wide open… I have lost the love of my life and my partner in ministry.

It was Lent 1990 when I started attending a daily 7:30 a.m. meditation at Unity of Greater Portland on Columbia Road. It was there that I met LeRoy Lowell. LeRoy had been attending Unity off and on and was recuperating from a heart attack. He had shoulder-length hair, wore short pants and hiking boots, and carried a walking stick. Oh, did I mention his tattoos?

While in the hospital he had turned his life and work over to the care of God and was about the spiritual business of raising his consciousness to that of the Christ and the planet’s consciousness to that of the Christ.

It was while attending the daily meditations I was captivated by him and the more I was around him the more I wanted to get to know him. What intrigued me about him was that he was a man who talked about and showed his emotions. This was the first time I had experienced someone like him. It took until July of that year for me to have the courage to ask him out for coffee. That began the story of Pat and LeRoy. My friend Deborah Stone posted on Facebook, Pat and LeRoy, one word, one heart. It brought me to tears, but that has been our story.

There are many reading this that have been in our lives for as long as we have known each other. There are others who have been around for awhile and have experienced the guy with so much love, so much talent , who lived his life practicing principles both in Unity and AA.

The amount of support that was provided to us both over the years with LeRoy’s hospital stay in Mass General and then through the last few years here has been overwhelming, and we have been so grateful. I have asked people to send us memories they have of their relationship with LeRoy. I would like to share a few with you now…because I haven’t asked permission, I will not share their names

• Anytime I call his cell phone, I know even if I don’t get him, I will get his voicemail message. His message is the best one I have ever heard, because it is so uplifting, and his bright light shines through, and my day is immediately better.

• LeRoy, one of my favorite memories is of you and Pat celebrating your 25th wedding anniversary in your original wedding attire. You were so dapper and Pat so beautiful. I love your guided meditations and your sweet gentleness.

• There are people who cross your path in life, who help change you for the better. I was one of the fortunate ones who got to meet LeRoy at a critical time in my life. I will always be forever grateful to you, LeRoy.

• With permission Barbara Kowalska wrote: I remember LeRoy when you came to Unity on Columbia Road. Even then, your commitment to your spiritual growth was evident. You and Pat were part of the Abundant Living Group, with Pam, Ingrid, Andrea and me. We shared and grew. You were part of the team that chose the River Road property, along with Bill French and Alan Roe. You helped renovate the property. There is probably not a wall in that building that you have not touched in some way. I remember mudding walls in the Fellowship Hall. LeRoy, you are an active soul. Always ready for more awareness, more insight, more understanding. One of my favorite things about you, LeRoy, is your sense of humor! Your smile, your laugh! Another is your meditations, always ending with “remember, compassion for oneself is the beginning for compassion for all.” And then there are your socks! Beautiful, colorful socks! Joyous and playful, just like you.

•  And then from Neil Ruecker: We are so deeply saddened to hear of LeRoy’s passing. He was a light and an inspiration to us all and we share your loss. His smile was contagious. His laugh was music in a quiet room. His energy for life was infectious. And his kindness was boundless. His empty chair in the front row can never be filled and his absence will sadden every service for a long time to come.

So here you get a glimpse of the love of my life, LeRoy L. Lowell…July 24, 1942 – January 23, 2022.

There will not be a Celebration of Life at this time. I would love to hear from you, however, if you have a story or just want to talk.

As you can hear from the stories, LeRoy had a great love for Unity Center for Spiritual Growth, and if you would like to honor his life, please consider making a donation in his memory…

It is my intention to be with you this Sunday. I need to be connected and need you now more than ever my beloved community.

You are a blessing in my life,
Rev. Patricia Bessey