Lowell Victor Fagen

Lowell Victor Fagen, 92, died peacefully March 9, 2019 following a stroke in Chandler, AZ, surrounded by family. He was born Jan. 25, 1927 in Dawson, IA to Ivyl and Blanche Fagen. After Dawson High School graduation in 1944, Lowell attended Iowa State College, now Iowa State University, where he was a member of a championship ROTC rifle team, prior to joining the Marine Corps during World War II. In 1945, he was selected to serve as chauffeur and bodyguard for General M. H. Silverthorn. Later, he joined the staff of the Public Information Office at Headquarters, Fleet Marine Force Pacific at Pearl Harbor, serving as a combat correspondent. Three evenings a week, he was staff announcer/disc jockey at Armed Forces Radio WVTC. Lowell begin competing in big-bore rifle matches in 1946. Highlights of this era were winning his first silver medal at the Pacific Division matches; and receiving a Letter of Commendation as a member of the four-man team that won the prestigious San Diego Trophy Match. After a Sunday service at First Methodist Church in Honolulu, Lowell spotted a “tall, gorgeous dark-haired gal coming down from the balcony.” It was Lani, who was to become his future wife, and their relationship blossomed. However, it was only after Lowell’s release from active duty and return to Iowa that he romanced and proposed to Lani by mail and telephone. They were married August 5, 1950 in Berkeley, CA. A man of many talents, experiences and multifaceted careers, Lowell often noted, “Retirement had never been in my long-range planning.” The newlyweds moved into an apartment in Jefferson, IA where Lowell started a farm machinery dealer sales job until he was recalled by the Marines in May 1951. He was an instructor at Camp Pendleton, and later spent time in Korea on assignment as a Combat Correspondent. He returned from Korea in time to qualify for a Marine rifle team that competed in the 1951 National Rifle Matches. Lani was part of the gallery who watched him take sixth place in the National Individual; fourth in the Navy Cup Matches; and a close competitor in the challenging Wimbleton match: 20 rounds at 1,000 yards. After returning again to civilian life, Lowell resumed a farming operation, growing corn and soybeans and raising sheep. He and others re-organized the Madison County Sheep Producers Association and he served three terms as president; was recognized as a Master Lamb Producer in 1980; developed a five-state electronic marketing system for slaughter lambs, called Cornbelt Lamb Electronica Marketing Association, for which he was elected as first president; and was elected as a District Soil Commissioner in two Iowa counties. A licensed pilot, Lowell also joined Elliot Beechcraft Company as a salesman and demonstration pilot; served 13 years on the Winterset-Madison County Airport Authority Board and as chair for eight years; and was on the Advisory Board on the Air and Transport Division of the Iowa Department of Transportation. Lowell joined the Farm Bureau Insurance Company Winterset, IA in 1959, which was the start of a two-part, 18-year career; completed a Dale Carnegie course and became an instructor and area manager for 11 years; and rejoined Farm Bureau Insurance. Lani and Lowell moved to Prescott, Arizona in 1987 where he began another career in real estate, becoming involved with local and state industry activities, including revising contracts for the Arizona Association of Realtors and serving on the professionalism committee for Arizona Department of Real Estate. Most of Lowell‘s real estate practice involved rural properties and septic systems, and in the late ‘90s, when the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) established the On-Site Wastewater Advisory Committee (OWAC). Lowell was appointed to the group and served six years during the development and implementation of the new 2001 state regulations, penning information articles for agents published in real estate media. A nonprofit state organization, Arizona on-Site Wastewater Recycling Association (AZOWRA) was chartered, for which Lowell was a founding member and served two terms as a board member. Lowell‘s experience with ADEQ’s Advisory Committee resulted in the approval of his new continuing education course for Realtors by the Arizona Department of Real Estate, and Lowell was its first accredited instructor. Lowell continued working for Red Arrow Real Estate in Prescott until age 91, when he and Lani moved to Chandler to be closer to family. “I’m just a lucky old guy whose health has allowed me to have a full and most satisfying life.” Those remembering and celebrating Lowell’s life include his wife of 68 years, Piilani “Lani” Norene Feiteira Fagen; four children: Loren Anthony Fagen of Sande, Norway; Laurie Napua Fagen (Hancock), Chandler, AZ; Lex Monroe Fagen (Ling), Shanghai, China; and Lee Marshall Fagen (Sally Grant), Berkeley, CA; grandchildren: Ryan Anthony Fagen, San Luis Obispo; Erin Fagen, Long Beach, CA; Shawn Anthony Fagen, Sande, Norway; Devon James Hancock, Tempe, AZ; Samuel Grant Fagen, Berkeley, CA; and Axel Victor Fagen, Shanghai, China. Join the family in a Celebration of Life at 1 p.m. Friday, May 17 at the Prescott Valley Methodist Church, 8944 E Sommer Dr, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314, which will include a Marine Corps military honors service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project in Lowell’s name at www.WoundedWarriorProject.org.

Lowell Victor Fagen

January 25, 1927 - March 9, 2019