Raymond F Lowden

Raymond F. Lowden was called home Friday February 22, 2019 at the age of 81. He passed away at his home that he built in Burlington City with his loving family by his side. Ray was born in Burlington and was the son of the late Curley and Mollie (nee Dugan) Lowden. He was a graduate of Burlington High School, Class of 1955. Ray's love of Burlington and his fellow man led him to a lifetime of service in the community. Ray was a police officer for the Burlington City Police Department, working his way through the ranks, retiring after 27 years of service as a lieutenant after serving as acting Chief of Police. During his time as a police officer, Ray was constantly looking to improve both himself as an officer and the police department as a whole by attending numerous schools and graduating from the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. He also spent time with several larger departments, such as the Philadelphia Police to learn techniques that could be useful and applied to situations in Burlington. He was one of the original members of the Burlington City and Burlington County SWAT Teams. He also served in the National Guard with the 114th Div. C Company, retiring after 42 years of service as Command Sergeant Major. Ray loved the work he did, both with the police department and the National Guard, never wanting to take a day off. He continued to serve the residents of Burlington as a volunteer firefighter with the Mitchell, Niagara, Endeavor and Hope Fire Companies in Burlington City. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Mitchell Fire Co. for 50 years of dedicated service. He also worked repairing steps, patios and all other types of masonry work. Ray was also a member of the Burlington City FOP Lodge 2, Retired Police Officer's Assoc., the 114th C Co. Retired Assoc., the Oneida Boat Club, the Roma Club and the Moose Lodge in Burlington. As much as Ray loved his work and community service, his greatest love was his family. He and his wife Barbara loved to travel, especially cruising. They visited over 57 countries during their travels. Their favorite was the Christmas markets in Germany. While on ship, Ray would join the Walk for the Cure, raising money for cancer research. Ray was very well known and respected by everyone. He loved to visit friends, especially those that were shut in. He was predeceased by his brother Norman "Scrappy" Lowden, and Master Sergeant Frank Appleton. Ray is survived by his wife of 63 years, Barbara (Yaniro), his daughter and son in law Renay and John VanBrunt, III of Lawrenceville, GA, his three grandchildren; Adrien (Tommy) Barwick of Bethlehem, GA, John (Jessica) VanBrunt, IV of Atlanta, GA and Alissa (Bojan) Ristic of London, England, his three great grandchildren; Kelsey Barwick, Mason Barwick and Isla Ristic. He is also survived by his brother and sister in law Pat and Lois Lowden and many nieces and nephews. Ray was very proud of his family and he loved each of them very much. Viewings for Ray will be held in St. Paul R.C. Church, 223 E. Union St., Burlington on Wednesday February 27th from 6-8pm and Thursday February 28th from 9-10am. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Paul's at 10:30am Thursday. Burial will follow in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Rt. 130 and Beverly Rd., Burlington. Memorial contributions made to St. Paul School, 250 James St., Burlington, NJ 08016 would be appreciated by his family. Arrangements are under the direction of the Page Funeral Home, Burlington where messages of sympathy may be sent to the family through www.pagefuneralhome.com. #lifecelebrationbypage. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Raymond F Lowden please visit our Sympathy Store.

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