[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 16, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF JOHN LOWNDES

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                        HON. STEPHANIE N. MURPHY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 16, 2021

  Mrs. MURPHY of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor my 
constituent, John Foy Lowndes, who passed away on February 12, 2021, at 
the age of 90, after a long and illustrious life.
  John was born in Medford, Massachusetts and raised in Durham, North 
Carolina. He graduated from Durham High School in 1949 and went to work 
as an assistant foreman in a tobacco factory. Later that year he gave 
up the tobacco job and enrolled at Duke University.
  Early in his freshman year, John joined the Marine Corps Reserve and 
was given the rank of Corporal in the Platoon Leaders group. When he 
graduated from Duke in 1953, he was made a Second Lieutenant.
  After a brief stint as a traveling soap salesman for Proctor & 
Gamble, John accepted a Marine Corps invitation to The Basic School and 
then went on to Air Control School. He was stationed in Miami, among 
other places, and he fell in love with Florida.
  In 1955, John left Miami and active duty with the Marine Corps and 
returned to Durham to attend the Duke University School of Law, 
graduating first in his class.
  After law school, John moved to Central Florida. He practiced law in 
Daytona Beach, and then in Orlando with the Anderson and Rush law firm.
  In 1969, John and three of his law partners decided to launch their 
own firm. The firm would flourish, becoming one of the largest and most 
prestigious in the state.
  Beyond his work as an attorney, John was a pillar of his Central 
Florida community.
  He chaired--or served on--many boards, including the Orange County 
Bar, the Orlando Museum of Art, Winter Park Memorial Hospital (now 
AdventHealth Winter Park), the Winter Park Health Foundation, Friends 
of the Mennella Museum, the Holocaust Center of Florida, and the UCF 
Foundation.
  John shared an enthusiasm for arts and culture with his wife Rita, 
and they were instrumental in building and naming the John & Rita 
Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park, which opened in 2001.
  John lived a rich and full life, doing well and doing good, 
contributing his time and energy to the causes he cared about, and 
always making a positive difference.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring John Foy Lowndes.

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