Lowell L. Wilkes, Jr.

LOWELL L. WILKES, JR. � � Manhattan Project Sandia Pioneer Passes Away � � Lowell Lyndon Wilkes Jr., 88, resident of Amherst, NH, died Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at his home. � He was born on March 21, 1919 in San Antonio, Texas, the only child of Lowell Lyndon Wilkes Sr. and Elinor (Goldbeck) Wilkes. � Soon after birth his family moved to Hubbard City, Texas where he and his loving, lifetime mate Rosemary grew up and always considered their hometown.� Lowell attended public school, where he excelled in athletics and�academics.��In high school he�played football, basketball, track, and tennis and was a member of the debate team. He served as Editor of the Hubbard school newspaper and graduated Valedictorian of his class of 1936. � As a young man growing up during the Great Depression, Lowell delivered magazines, sold seeds and picked cotton for spending money. Summers were spent as a camper and�eventually as a councilor at the Waco, Texas YMCA camp at the waterfalls of the Bosque River. � In 1936 Lowell entered the University of Texas and attended year round while working, and became Chief Student Librarian. He joined Phi Kappa Psi fraternity�and became active in campus politics where he was elected Student Assemblyman with the slogan "Win With Wilkes." � Lowell entered West Point in 1939 experiencing culture shock and challenge during Beast Barracks and Plebe Year. Despite�an abrupt change in lifestyle, he adjusted and�the core values of cadet character epitomized by�"Duty, Honor, Country" became embedded for life. Academic horizons broadened and military training proved invaluable throughout Lowell's careers. During Yearling Summer Lowell returned to the University of Texas to complete his BA Degree in Economics and Business Administration. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. � Immediately after graduation from West Point Lowell returned to Hubbard City during a short leave to marry his hometown sweetheart, Rosemary Jarvis who he had known all his life. They remained happily married for just over 64 years. � Lowell was commissioned in the Signal Corps. He attended the Basic Officers Course upon being commissioned and the Advanced Course a year later. Stateside training during WWII was with the 103rd Infantry Division and II Corps. He was then assigned to the Fifth Army Corps in Italy in SIAM (Signal Information and Monitoring). Lowell participated in the operation, maintenance and reconstruction of communication during and after the Surrender of the Nazis in Northern Italy. Later he was the division signal officer of the 34th and 88th Infantry Division for the occupation of the Trieste Territory and guarding of the disputed Yugoslavian-Italian border. Rosemary joined Lowell with the first group of dependents to arrive in Italy after WWII. The couple lived in requisitioned quarters in the Lido in Venice. � Unexpectedly, Lowell received orders in September 1946 to return immediately to the United States. He was one of only sixty young US Army officers from all over the World to become a part of the Manhattan Engineer Project which later became the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. The so called "Sandia Pioneers" were assigned the mission of taking over the assembly and deployment of atomic bombs from the civilian scientists who developed the first atomic bombs at Los Alamos, New Mexico which were�dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan, ending WWII. Lowell was a Bomb Supervisor and he supervised the assembly of�the live bomb code named X-RAY,�which was exploded during Operation SANDSTONE in the Pacific. Operation SANDSTONE helped the Atomic Energy Commission to fulfill its mandate to provide more and better bombs to the US Armed Forces. The deterrence capability contributed significantly to the Cold War. � After Sandia, Lowell attended Harvard Business School earning an MBA and graduating as a Baker Scholar. He was assigned to the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, followed by Command and General Staff College, a tour after the Korean War with the Korean Civil Assistance Command and again to the Pentagon in the Office of the Army Chief of Staff. � Lowell resigned from the Regular Army in 1958 and moved�with his family to Lexington, Massachusetts. After fifteen moves in fifteen years, Lowell joined the private sector. It was in Lexington�that he and Rosemary could be settled with their four devoted children; Lyndon, Ray, Bill, and Barbara. Lowell stayed in the Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel. His civilian career with Cambridge Thermonic Corporation as Vice President, Treasurer and later with its' acquirer Midland-Ross�as Operations Manager spanned 28 years. In retirement, Lowell was an active member of the Souhegan Congregational Church in Amherst and was a member of the Service Corps of Retired Executives. � The inspiring and positive influence of West Point with the loving devotion of Rosemary and his family gave Lowell a truly happy and wonderful life. � In addition to his wife and four children, he is survived by his nine grandchildren, Tina, Jessica, Casey, Ben, Chelsea, Taylor, Alyssa, Kyle, and Emily; and a great grandson, Thomas. � The family will receive friends on Sunday, November 11th at 14 Nathan Lord Road, Amherst, NH from 12:00-4:00pm. Funeral Services will be held Monday, November 12th at 10:00 am in the First Congregational Church, UCC, 10 Union Street, Milford, NH. Interment will be in West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY on Tuesday, November 13th.�In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Communities Foundation of Texas, ATTN: Wilkes Scholarship Fund, 550 Caruth Haven Lane, Dallas, TX�75225-8146. Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford, NH, is in charge of arrangements.�For more information go to www.smith-heald.com. �