Sad news:

Our state lost a long-time and powerful voice of mental health advocacy with the death of John Rowe on Thursday July ll following a fall.  It is an enormous loss for our state and particularly Western North Carolina and the Asheville area where John and his wife, Florence, a tireless advocate herself, reside.

 Please keep Florence and family in your thoughts. Certainly, there will not soon be another advocate with the dignity, humor, personableness and perseverance of John.  If you would like to send Florence a card, here is her contact information: 

John and Florence Rowe
52 Pinnacle Point
Asheville, NC  28805  828 299 9596

 


 

OBITUARY FROM THE ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES http://www.citizentimes.com

John R. Rowe

Asheville - John R. Rowe, 76, of Asheville, died Wednesday, July 11, 2007, at Memorial Mission Hospital.

A native of Ridgeville Corners, OH, he was the son of the late Russel and Minnie Zimmerman Rowe.

A member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, he received his B.S. and M.Ed. from Bowling Green State University. John served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army in Japan during the Korean Conflict.

John's educational career was at Madison County Schools, Ridgeville Corners Schools and Lakewood City Schools, all in Ohio, as a teacher, counselor and administrator. He coordinated a Title III curriculum-writing project and led the writing team that developed The New Model Me textbook. As director for eight years of a Developer/Demonstrator Project in the U.S. Dept. of Education's National Diffusion Network, he trained teachers in 35 states to use this textbook.

In 1984, he retired to North Carolina. He was a recipient of the J.C. Penny Golden Rule Award for volunteer service, a member of the NAMI NC Family to Family Hall of Fame, and a dedicated mental health advocate. John served on the boards of Blue Ridge Area Authority, NAMI Western Carolina and most currently WNC Housing, Inc.

John was an active member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church and coordinated its Book Study. He was a loyal fan of the Cleveland Indians and Cavaliers, a kind and generous man, a loving husband and father.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Shirley Naveau. He is survived by his wife, Florence (Beatty), whom he married on December 26, 1954. He is also survived by his daughter, Kathy Rowe, and her husband, Rick Goodkind, of Columbus, OH; his son, Dave Rowe, of Asheville; a sister-in-law, Ruth Beatty, and a nephew, Paul Beatty and his wife, Tami, all of Huron, OH.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm on Sunday, July 15, at St. Mark's Lutheran Church with Pastor Chris Webb officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Mark's Lutheran Church Building Fund, 10 N. Liberty St., Asheville, NC 28801; NAMI NC, 309 W. Millbrook Road, Suite 121, Raleigh, NC 27609 ; or ABCCM, 30 Cumberland Ave., Asheville, NC 28801.

Morris Funeral Home, 304 Merrimon Ave., is assisting the family. Condolences can be sent to the family through the web site, www.Morrisfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Published: 2007-07-14